There’s a new arrival on the World of Tanks battlefield, and it’s a bit of a celebrity.
Fury, the Sherman Tank which stars alongside Brad Pitt in the World War II film of the same name, arrives as a premium purchase in free-to-play tank-combat sensation World of Tanks today. It’s an interesting collaboration between Hollywood and the world of video games, coming from a different angle than the normal movie game tie-ins we’ve long come to expect (and often dread). It’s also a potential money-maker for both parties, given that World of Tanks’ 90 million players spent an average of $4.51 on the game over the 12 months to March this year.
“It made sense,” Victor Kislyi, the chief executive officer of World of Tanks developer Wargaming, told the Associated Press. “Both audiences are interested in historical accuracy, so why don’t we do something together? We didn’t want to overdo it. We appreciate the opportunity, but our audience wants appropriateness.”
Kislyi thinks the tie-in will be mutually beneficial for his game and the movie, which opens Oct. 17 in North America.
“I believe that this movie could have a significant extra audience because of the millions and millions of World of Tanks gamers,” said Kislyo. “The movie is the movie. The game is the game. However, how can you not want to go and watch this movie if you play this game, if you are someone who is hooked on German and American tank combat? You’ll have to see it.”
The Fury bundle adds a realistic model of the M4A3E8 tank to the game, along with a tank controller based on Brad Pitt’s “Wardaddy” character, and special themed missions inspired by the film’s battles. The PC and Xbox 360 versions of the premium bundle cost $30, and the iOS bundle is priced at $15.