At the end of December, the Firefight update will be released, which will begin closed testing of a completely new mode.
It focuses on infantry and its interaction with modern ground and air combat vehicles in urban environments. The mode was announced in April 2025, with open testing scheduled for 2026. Furthermore, Gunfire Contact will feature new maps and dozens of new vehicle types, as well as other improvements and content for existing War Thunder modes .
Infantry battles will take place exclusively on new maps created specifically for this purpose. Test participants will be able to fight for two in-game nations ( the USA and the USSR/Russia) with pre-installed sets of modern small arms, engineer and special weapons, as well as ground and air vehicles. New maps, countries, and equipment will be added to the game in the future, just as in other War Thunder modes.
Infantry squads in the closed beta test will be armed with M4A1, M16A4, M7, AK-74, AK-12, and ASM Val assault rifles; M249 Para and RPK-74M light machine guns; M110A1 SDMR and SVD-M designated marksman rifles; MAC 11 and PP-19 Bizon submachine guns; hand grenades, grenade launchers, MANPADS; reconnaissance drones; and FPV drones. During the closed beta test, infantry will be supported by M1 Abrams and T-72B tanks , M3A3 Bradley and BMP-3 fighting vehicles, and AH-64A and Mi-24V helicopters .
