Enlisted

Enlisted is a free-to-play team-based first-person shooter that reconstructs large-scale battles of World War II. Players choose between the USSR, Germany, the USA, or Japan and fight on key fronts of the era — from the snowy fields near Moscow and the streets of Berlin to the beaches of Normandy, the tropics of the Pacific, and the sands of North Africa. The gameplay combines elements of arcade and realistic military shooters, occupying a middle ground between mass projects like Battlefield and hardcore military simulators like ARMA. The detail in uniforms, equipment, and landscapes enhances immersion in the era.

The main feature is the squad control system. The player commands not just one soldier, but an entire unit of soldiers. AI soldiers follow the player and execute basic commands, and you can switch to any of them at any moment — manually or automatically after the current soldier's death. Each living player brings an entire platoon to the battlefield, and because of this, hundreds of units are present on the map at the same time, creating the effect of a real military operation rather than a skirmish of sabotage groups.

In Enlisted, there is no classic story campaign with cutscenes and character development. Instead, there is a set of separate historical episodes based on key battles of World War II. The player acts as a squad commander operating under conditions dictated by life itself. The narrative unfolds through the environment — from propaganda posters to traces of artillery fire — and context. Key theaters of military operations:

Individual lesser-known or concluding stages of the war, such as the Manchurian strategic offensive operation, periodically appear in the format of temporary events. Players complete thematic tasks and receive unique rewards (for example, decals or rare weapons) dedicated to a specific episode. This allows developers to expand the historical scope without creating full-fledged permanent campaigns for each local conflict.

Each theater of operations includes a series of detailed locations recreated based on archival materials. Maps range in size from several hundred meters to 2 km during active combat. Game design is built on the principle of layering: open spaces for tank duels transition into tight mazes of trenches, bunkers, or urban quarters for infantry.

For example, on "Omaha," the assault on the open coast is followed by the clearing of a bunker system, and then by battles in tight hedgerows and French estates. Berlin maps allow for fighting in subway tunnels under Königsplatz or storming multi-story government buildings, while in Tunisia, battles take place among adobe structures with wide firing sectors.

The visual environment is not just decorative. Through a system of dynamic lighting and weather effects (snowstorms under Moscow, sandstorms in Tunisia, tropical haze over the Pacific), it affects visibility and, accordingly, tactics.

Verticality plays a special role: multi-story buildings and natural elevations allow snipers and engineers to control entire sectors, turning attics and hills into key defensive points. The weapon bracing system allows any windowsill, sandbag, or fallen tree to be used as an improvised support.

Despite the unification of content into a common system, completed in 2024, the game maintains the authenticity of the theaters of operations: you will not encounter the Japanese army on the maps of Moscow. However, the combat rating (BR) system allows for chronological liberties within one nation: with a high level of equipment, late models of weapons (for example, AS-44 near Moscow) can appear in "early" settings. The authors consciously sacrifice strict chronological realism for the sake of match balance.

Explosions from aerial bombs and shells create craters that immediately become cover. Even a regular shovel allows for manual trench digging. By 2026, the mechanics became deeper: explosions can cause the collapse of loose soils and block narrow passages with debris, changing routes right in the course of battle. At the same time, it is important to understand the limits: terraforming works with the landscape, but the main geometry of large buildings remains static. Breaking windows, smashing doors, destroying wooden fences and small extensions — yes. Toppling a stone house in Stalingrad — no.

The world has a "stickiness": deep snow, dense jungles, and rubble in ruins all slow down movement and force players to look for beaten paths or roads. Tanks can get stuck in narrow passages or "bottom out" on ruins.

The sound system allows you to distinguish between a ricochet from a stone and a dull hit on wood, while nearby explosions cause realistic concussion: the sound is muffled, a characteristic ringing in the ears appears, and the image becomes blurred. Visual disturbances work just as aggressively: dust particles, smoke, and snowflakes directly affect visibility, while burning effects from flamethrowers or Molotov cocktails create dense smoke screens, blinding entire sectors.

In 2026, Enlisted had four fully playable nations (with integrated sub-factions):

USSR combines the Red Army and a limited amount of allied equipment. With the "Far Eastern Front" update (December 2025), Chinese weapons (for example, the Type 88 Hanyang rifle, BR I) were added to the Soviet tree, however, China as a sub-faction is assigned to the USA and is not represented in the USSR as a full branch. The arsenal tends towards mass and utilitarian: effective submachine guns (PPSh, PPS), powerful artillery, and medium tanks focused on frontal armor. At high levels — heavy IS-2s and late modifications of T-34s, although their dominance at range is limited: IS-2 suffers from slow reload, while T-34 falls short against top German equipment at long distances.

Germany (Axis) includes the Wehrmacht, Italian units, and Romanian squads. There are also individual Hungarian premium units, but Hungary is not a full systemic sub-faction. The German branch is about precision and heavy equipment: excellent bolt-action rifles at the start, machine guns with high damage per second (MG 42), and armored vehicles like "Tigers" and "Ferdinands" at the upper tiers. The price for power is cost and narrow specialization.

USA (Allies) is the most diverse nation, combining the US Army, Marine Corps, British forces, Commonwealth contingents (Australia, New Zealand), Free France, and China. This provides a wide selection of weapons and flexibility in tactics: quality semi-automatic rifles (M1 Garand), developed aviation, and balanced armored vehicles. The weak point is a less "explosive" starting arsenal compared to Germany or the USSR, which reveals itself at medium tiers.

Japan is represented by the Imperial Army and Navy. As of 2026, Japan had no official sub-factions in the development tree. A pronounced infantry focus: armored vehicles are weaker than those of other nations at all levels, but infantry weapons — from bayonet charges to specific submachine guns — compensate for this with an aggressive playstyle. Japan rewards those who are willing to play "from the infantry" and tolerate mediocre tanks.

Sub-factions in Enlisted are additional allied squads built into the nation, with their own samples of weapons and equipment (including premium ones). Progress remains unified: by leveling up a nation, a player simultaneously unlocks both main and allied equipment.

Enlisted already has one and a half dozen infantry classes, and their number is gradually increasing. Classes are grouped by combat role.

Breakthrough Group — assault troops, flamethrower operators, medics. Stormtroopers with submachine guns dominate in close combat and clear rooms. Flamethrowers burn out fortified positions — fire kills, blinds, and forces the enemy to leave cover. Medics are functionally close to stormtroopers, but carry first aid kits, heal wounded allies, and can set up medical boxes for the entire squad.

Support and logistics group — engineers, radio operators, anti-tank soldiers. The engineer is a key class, without exaggeration determining the outcome of the match: without their rally points, the team loses momentum and struggles. As they level up, the engineer builds not only fortifications but also anti-tank guns and anti-aircraft guns. The radio operator calls in artillery strikes, and as part of a specialized signal unit, gains access to smoke artillery and airstrikes — a radio operator embedded in a regular squad is limited to basic artillery. An anti-tank soldier with a grenade launcher or PTR is the main infantry tool against a tank at the point, though not the only one: explosive packs, engineering anti-tank weapons, and aviation also work.

Firepower group — machine gunners, snipers, mortarmen. The machine gunner provides fire density and direction control. The sniper takes out key targets (radio operators, machine gunners), but is only effective with active movement — a sniper hiding in the bushes does not create pressure. The mortarman works from cover based on allies' marks and, in skilled hands, can destroy entire squads.

Tankers and pilots are formally classes as well, but do not participate in infantry assembly — this is a way to access vehicles.

The main thing is not in the classes themselves, but in the squad assembly. Each squad allows the inclusion of specialists from other classes. The "gold standard" is an assault squad with an added engineer and anti-tank soldier. Such a unit can capture a point, hold it, and respond to tank threats without calling for reinforcements. An alternative approach is a machine gun squad with an engineer and a couple of shooters for flexible defense.

The inventory and equipment are quite rich: firearms, grenades, knives/bayonets, pistols, secondary weapons, backpacks, first aid kits, binoculars, flasks, and a hammer for construction. Before battle, fighters can be equipped manually, consumables can be purchased for silver, and in battle — trophy weapons can be taken from corpses (but not with full ammunition).

The armory has more than 250 units of firearms — and this does not include premium, promotional, and reward samples from the "Battle Pass." Weapons are tied to the soldier class: shooters take bolt-action rifles and self-loading rifles into battle, stormtroopers — submachine guns and assault rifles, machine gunners — light machine guns, while more specialized classes operate mortars, flamethrowers, anti-tank rifles, and rocket launchers. Snipers receive the same rifles as shooters, but with optics; medics share the arsenal with stormtroopers, adding first aid kits to it; engineers are armed like shooters, but their main strength lies in their constructions.

Developers are eager to add not only serial samples but also experimental, trophy, and lend-lease weapons — from early automatics to naval machine guns, originally designed as anti-aircraft guns for patrol boats. Such diversity is a double-edged sword. On one hand, the research tree looks impressive, and each combat rating (BR) offers a choice. On the other hand, a careful player quickly notices clones: weapons that differ from the neighboring model only in cosmetics or a couple of units in characteristics. This is a subject of discussion among supporters of strict historical accuracy.

In the arsenal of combat vehicles, there are more than 350 units — over 150 of which are tanks, along with self-propelled guns, armored vehicles, motorcycles, and dozens of aircraft. Ground vehicles are distributed across combat ratings (BR) from I to V, and each tier feels radically different: at lower BRs, light vehicles determine the outcome through maneuvering, at mid-levels, workhorses like the T-34 and Sherman appear, while the upper tiers are occupied by heavy armor — from Tigers and IS-2s to heavy SPGs. A separate niche is occupied by exotic machines: rocket launchers on tank chassis, flamethrower tanks, and in Japan — amphibious vehicles capable of crossing water obstacles on Pacific maps.

Aviation is divided into fighter cover, attack aircraft, and bombers. The arsenal is regularly supplemented: in the "Far Eastern Front" update (December 2025), heavy bombers were introduced, and the upcoming "Hidden Threat" update will bring the twin-engine Dornier Do 335 — one of the most unusual aircraft of World War II with a tandem engine layout. Jet aviation closes the upper limit of air BRs.

Armored Personnel Carriers (APC) are highlighted as a separate class with a key role: they serve as mobile spawn points for the entire team and do not disappear after use until the vehicle is destroyed. The pace of the advance in the current meta directly depends on how well the APC is placed and protected. The spectrum includes both wheeled trucks and tracked vehicles, as well as premium amphibians. Motorcycle squads are the fastest option for delivering troops to capture points at the beginning of a round, and the sidecar with a machine gun allows for firing on the move.

The "Far Eastern Front" update was a significant milestone for armored vehicles: in addition to new machines, course machine guns became operational on one and a half dozen tanks — T-34 of several modifications, Sherman, Pz.III, Pz.IV, and others. Before this, the course machine gun was a decorative element of the model.

After the global merger of campaigns in December 2023 ("Merge"), progression in Enlisted was restructured into a system of research trees — one for each of the four nations. Each such tree is divided into branches: weapons, vehicles, and squads. Soldier classes are not a separate branch — they are unlocked through researching the corresponding nodes and squads.

The player chooses their priority — they can deliberately unlock tanks while ignoring firearms, or vice versa. However, within each branch, progression is linear: skipping an intermediate model is usually not possible; it is necessary to research and purchase it for silver before the next one is unlocked.

Each soldier levels up individually, gaining experience in battle, and each level provides perk points and access to new skills. The player chooses whether to invest points in reload speed, grenade throw distance, recoil resistance, and other parameters. Soldiers are divided into tiers (I–III), with higher tiers having better base characteristics and greater development potential. There is no multiclassing — one soldier cannot be both a sniper and an engineer at the same time — but within a squad, specialists from different classes can be combined to adapt the composition to the task.

Combat Rating (BR I–V) determines which matches the player will enter; it is calculated based on the most powerful equipment in the used lineup. Formally, the system works on a "soft rule": with a sufficient number of players, matches with a close BR range (1–2, 2–3, 3–4, 4–5) are selected, but when there are not enough people, the range expands. In practice, this means that BR III can enter matches with higher equipment levels, and the gap in effectiveness between early and late weapons (for example, StG 44 or Tiger I) is quite noticeable.

Silver is a single in-game currency earned from battles, achievements, and the Battle Pass. It is spent on purchasing weapons, soldiers, and upgrades. Gold is a premium currency for elite squads, cosmetics, and boosts. Silver chests allow veterans to spend excess silver on random rewards, including camouflages and weapons from past events; however, this mechanic is not universal and only appears during specific events.

The format of the Battle Pass was revamped in 2024–2025: seasons became shorter (the number of levels reduced to about ~30 per season), and the progression of rewards is now given directly as players progress. The Elite Battle Pass costs 900 gold and pays for itself when fully completed, returning bonus gold beyond its cost. Rewards include unique weapons, unique soldiers, and vehicles/camouflages.

Premium Account gives the player double experience for armies, squads, and fighters, as well as additional slots for infantry and mechanized squads, expanding the possibilities for forming a combat composition.

A match in Enlisted is a clash between two teams of 15–20 real players, each with their own squad of several AI fighters. The session lasts 20–25 minutes: the game assigns a map and mode, teams spread out to their sides, and the struggle for territory begins.

Infantry forms the backbone of the match: capturing points, holding buildings, marking targets for artillery and aviation. Tactics revolve around rally points — spawn points that engineers place as close to the front line as possible. Allies spawn at these points and advance forward, while the enemy seeks and destroys these points to cut off reinforcements. Without properly placed rally points, the team loses momentum: fighters run from the base spawn across half the map and die before reaching their objective. This makes the engineer the most valuable class on the battlefield.

Tanks support infantry — suppressing fire points, breaking fortifications, and engaging in duels with enemy armor. Aviation works on area targets and clusters, but pilots have difficulty distinguishing targets from a height — effectiveness directly depends on the markers set by the infantry. Radio operators call for artillery strikes that can turn the situation at a point in seconds.

Branches of troops are strictly interdependent: a tank without infantry cover is blind and quickly receives an explosive package in the rear, aviation without markers hits nothing, and infantry without armored support gets bogged down in fortified positions.

When the current soldier dies, the player instantly switches to the next squad member and continues the fight from the same spot. The squad acts as a reserve of lives: as long as there is someone in it, the player is in the game. A medkit allows a player to get up from a knockout on their own, without a medic. When the squad is completely wiped out, it goes for a recharge, and the player takes the next one in line. The death of an individual soldier is not fatal, but the loss of the squad and its position is a significant blow.

Shooting balances between arcade and realism. There is recoil, but it is quickly compensated; the weapons are generally obedient. TTK is very low: one or two accurate hits decide the outcome. Bolt-action rifles — Kar98, "Mosin" — often provide a knockout with a single hit at medium and long distances. Automatic weapons — PPSh, submachine guns, light machine guns — dominate up close due to their rate of fire and leave bolt-action rifles no chance in head-on confrontations. Close combat — bayonets, stocks, knives — occurs at zero distance; one of the most chaotic moments, but it happens noticeably less often than shootouts.

The damage model for vehicles is borrowed from War Thunder: there is no health bar. A shell penetrates (or does not penetrate) armor, and then internal damage decides — explosion of the ammunition load, fire in the fuel tank, crew concussion. You can disable the engine, break the tracks, jam the turret — each damage affects combat capability. A killed gunner is replaced by another crew member, but during the transfer, the tank is paralyzed. By the beginning of 2026, tank gameplay has become more dynamic due to improved mobility.

Aviation appears in the air at a distance from the battlefield. Ammunition is finite: after dropping bombs or missiles, you need to fly to a resupply point in the rear — about a minute for a round trip. Controls are simplified compared to simulators.

A typical game cycle: preparation — choosing a set of 3–4 infantry squads and 1–2 units of equipment; battle — completing match objectives; result — gaining experience for squads, soldier experience, and silver; upgrading — researching branches in the technology tree, unlocking new perks (reload speed, survivability, etc.) and integrating the acquired equipment into the current setup. Silver is spent on replenishing the arsenal. The loop is aimed at continuous improvement of the army through participation in battles.

In Enlisted, there is no permanent PvE mode where you can just enter and fight against bots without other players. All PvE elements are implemented as temporary events or custom scenarios.

Despite the absence of a built-in clan (guild) system, an active core of players has formed around Enlisted, uniting in unofficial regiments and battalions through Discord. In-game interaction is limited to a friends list and the ability to form groups of up to four people for cooperative play.

The main coordination tool in battle remains quick commands and markers that allow players to indicate targets for aviation or locations for building engineering structures. A full-fledged system of social features (public chats, clan tags, and regiment wars) is still on the list of most anticipated updates as of early 2026, but has not yet been implemented in the official client.