War Thunder announces WTCS, fresh Esports Circuit with four Majors

Modified Apr 04, 2025 15:17 IST

War Thunder fans have some intense esports to look forward to with the WTCS. A fresh new esports scene that will run for the rest of 2025, and offers players a shot at 15,000 Euros. On top of that, over 400,000 Golden Eagles will be distributed at every major. Additionally, there will be exclusive Esports skins, titles, and vehicle coupons connected to each major event.

What makes the War Thunder WTCS better, is that anyone can join, if they can build a roster of players, and can qualify during the Open Qualifier period. It’s all very exciting, and one of my personal reasons why the game is still worth it in 2025. Few games can match the excitement of vehicular PVP quite like this one.

What you can expect from the War Thunder WTCS Esports Circuit

War Thunder’s WTCS Esports Circuit will feature four majors throughout the year, with qualifiers before each. Majors will be broken into 3 splits across 8 days, including 4 days of Open Qualifiers, 3 days of Play-Offs, and then the Finals.

All players on your team need to take part in at least one major (Image via Gaijin Entertainment)

These tournaments will also be Double Elimination, so if your team gets knocked out early, you can still come out on top — if you can climb out of Loser’s Brackets. Below are the four majors, the months they take place in, the number of players, and how many matches you have to win to proceed:

WTCS Titan: April-May 2025 (5vs5, Bo5)
WTCS Armored Apex: June-July 2025 (4vs4, Bo5)
WTCS Air Superiority: September-October 2025 (4v4, Bo7)
WTCS Thunder Cup: November-December 2025 (Grand Finals)

The Open Qualifiers will take place across two weekends (four days total), and anyone can create a team of eight players, and try to qualify for the competition. The top four teams from these will head into the Play-Offs.

Each of the events will feel and play a bit differently for the War Thunder WTCS, as well. Titan will be a mixed format (planes and tanks), Armored Apex will be just tanks, and Air Superiority will be just planes. This will conclude with the Grand Final Thunder Cup — a three-weekend showdown that brings together all three formats for one final, intense tournament.

It's not just that you win, how you win is equally important (Image via Gaijin Entertainment)

Once you’ve made a team for the War Thunder WTCS, you need to score points (Thunder Points). This is done by winning matches online, but depending on how much you win by (Victory/Defeat Ratio) can score — or lose — more points, as seen above.

The eight teams who accrue the most points will be taking part in the Grand Final, for a shot at the 15,000 Euro price pool. It will be interesting to see which nations’ vehicles will stand out at the top, not to mention the players piloting them.

Check out our other War Thunder guides and features

About the author

Jason is an Esports and Gaming journalist at Sportskeeda holding an amazing 11 years of experience under his belt. Having put out 4000-plus articles and amassing over 12 million reads for Sportskeeda, he is among the company’s most experienced writers. Jason holds a Bachelor's degree in English from UNC Pembroke and was inspired to become a gaming journalist very early on in life after reading Nintendo Power.

Jason is a jack of all trades when it comes to gaming journalism. He’s a key writer in Sportskeeda's MMO department, but he also likes to help out in other categories, like streamers, RPG, card games, and whatever else is needed. A solo gamer at heart, Jason's favorite titles include Earthbound and Dragon Warrior.

Jason places high value on accuracy and relevance in his write-ups. He achieves this with thorough research to sift facts from rumors. One of the biggest highlights of his career is his interview with Canadian pro wrestler Kenny Omega about his inclusion in the Like a Dragon game series. He is also good friends with journalist Kazumo Hashimoto, who he admires for the kind of stories he works on and his deep ethics.

A true cinephile, one of Jason’s primary hobbies involves enjoying cinematic experiences. He also loves reading, be it fiction or manga, when not working. Additionally, he streams on Twitch and posts his gaming insights on YouTube.

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Edited by Ashmita Bhatt