Gaijin has announced a new War Thunder rule for situations in which a player abandons a tank or ship. The announcement, dated August 25, 2026, covers ground and naval battles, but Gaijin has not announced when the mechanic will go live.
Abandoning a vehicle could credit an opponent
Players will be able to abandon their vehicle from the Esc menu or by pressing the J key. The game will then search for the nearest enemy and award that player the kill.
A separate condition applies when ammunition is closer to the abandoned vehicle than an opponent. In that case, the kill will go to the player associated with the ammunition, and the corresponding statistic will also be credited.
The search radius depends on the battle type
The search will cover a radius of 3 kilometers for ground vehicles and 20 kilometers in naval battles.
The ammunition covered by the rule includes rockets, missiles, bombs, torpedoes and mines. Rockets, bombs, torpedoes and mines may be guided or unguided.
The announced reward is half the standard amount, although Gaijin has not provided a precise figure. If no opponent or projectile is found within the relevant radius, no kill will be awarded.
The mechanic is still waiting for a major update
Gaijin plans to introduce the rule in a future major update. It should therefore not be treated as active in the current version. No version number or precise release date has been announced.
The detailed conditions can be verified in the official Steam announcement and on the official War Thunder website. Coverage of the latest news is also available through jeu.vidéo's game news, game catalogue and homepage.
For more on the subject, see the War Thunder game page, our article on War Thunder bringing your screenshots to life for six and our article on War Thunder preparing more readable cockpits with.
Verified sources
These links verify the key information used in this article.
- steamcommunity.com: War Thunder's official Steam announcement about awarding a kill after a vehicle is abandoned, the search distances and the reduced reward.
