War Thunder making console debut on PS4 later this year

Gaijin Entertainment's military-themed massively multiplayer online game War Thunder is headed to the PlayStation 4 later this year, the publisher announced today. For those unfamiliar, War Thunder is described as a "next generation MMO combat game dedicated to World War II military aviation, armored vehicles, and fleets." In it, you take part in all major combat battles — whether it be land, air, and sea.

The PS4 console version, dubbed War Thunder: Ground Forces, will make use of the system's "potent power" to "redefine War Thunder's rich gameplay." What that means exactly is a bit unclear at this point as we've yet to see anything aside from the teaser, but hopefully we'll find out soon. In the meantime, Gaijin has teased "stunning lifelike dynamics of real-time flight and precision in its details of planes, tanks and war ships, and intuitive controls thanks to the new gamepad Dual Shock 4."

The press release also makes note of an improved head-tracking system, easier socialization tools, and simple ways to record, stream and share homemade gameplay videos with full support of PlayStation Cloud. Of course, the last part seems designed around the PS4's share button which lets users capture, edit, and share video clips with a simple press of a button on the controller.

“We're convinced that our cooperation with Sony will not only make the War Thunder franchise better, but it will give our fans a new level of gaming experience that will figuratively blown their mind,” said Gaijin Entertainment’s Creative Director Kirill Yudintsev. “Partnering with Sony Computer Entertainment is the most natural progression for the War Thunder brand. We are excited to bring War Thunder to the leading next-generation platform, the PS4.”

As it currently stands,War Thunder on PC boasts more than 1.5 million players. The game was recently announced as under development for mobile devices as well. War Thunder is expected to make its console debut on PS4 in time for the holiday 2013 season, which is also when the PS4 is set to launch.