The latest World of Tanks update for PC will not only ensure the massively popular free-to-play game remain at the edge of PC gaming technology in years to come – a brilliant news for those who always keep their machines up-to-date – it also ensures that even those with potato-level rigs aren’t left behind in terms of a brand new experience (yay me!).

Leaving no stones unturned, latest update not only bring unprecedented, bonkers-level realism to a game that’s already well known for its realistic depiction of war machines duking it out o massive arenas, it dropped in 29 reworked maps, a brand new soundtrack and the introduction of a new map, Glacier. Even paid games don’t give their paying customers this much extra goodies.

“Update 1.0 improves the baseline technology for the game, introducing the in-house developed Wargaming Core graphics engine,” said Milos Jerabek, Development Director for World of Tanks PC. “Thanks to it, we’re now capable of elevating the entire game and can ensure World of Tanks is a fun and immersive experience for years to come.”

In an interview with IGN, Regional Publishing Director for Wargaming APAC, Alexander de Giorgio commented on the eight-year gap between the game’s first release and its 1.0 update “We see World of Tanks as a living thing,”

“It’s been going now as a service to players for eight years, and that means a constant stream of updates, of new content, of new game modes, and sometimes things that didn’t work, which we had to roll back. This is a constant experience of running a game like this, and so in that kind of mindset, eight years is like nothing. It just kind of comes along, it just happened.” he added.

We can only hope that other developers and publishers to take a leaf out of his book when it comes to servicing their loyal player base.

The update is now live for everyone on the PC so we’d highly recommend you to try it out. As a bonus, to celebrate the launch of Update 1.0, World of Tanks has announced the Grand Extravaganza – a two-week long marathon full of battling and rewards. Starting March 29 until April 13, players will get chances to earn multiple in-game bonuses, as well as prizes from Intel. Not sure it’s your cup of tea? Hey it’s free anyway.

You can download the game here.

Stay tuned for Part 2 where we discuss further with de Giorgio about what separates his game from other multiplayer games, their aspirations for the future and what is in store for players in the Asian region.