World in Conflict
Encyclopedia
Real-time tactics
Real-time tactics or RTT is a subgenre of tactical wargames played in real-time simulating the considerations and circumstances of operational warfare and military tactics...
video game developed by the Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
video game company Massive Entertainment
Massive Entertainment
Massive - A Ubisoft Studio is a Swedish video game company based in Malmö, Sweden. The company is fully owned by Ubisoft. They are best known for the Ground Control series of real-time tactics video games. They were acquired by Vivendi Universal Games in 2002...
and published by Ubisoft
Ubisoft
Ubisoft Entertainment S.A. is a major French video game publisher and developer, with headquarters in Montreuil, France. The company has a worldwide presence with 25 studios in 17 countries and subsidiaries in 26 countries....
(formerly Sierra Entertainment
Sierra Entertainment
Sierra Entertainment Inc. was an American video-game developer and publisher founded in 1979 as On-Line Systems by Ken and Roberta Williams...
) for Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
. The game was released in September 2007. An expansion pack was released in March 2009 under the name World in Conflict: Soviet Assault
World in Conflict: Soviet Assault
World in Conflict: Soviet Assault is an expansion pack developed by Massive Entertainment and Swordfish Studios for the real-time tactics video game World in Conflict...
; however, the console version has since been dropped from its productions by Activision and instead only exists as the expansion to the PC version.
The game is set in 1989 during the social, political, and economic collapse of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. However, the title postulates an alternate history scenario where the Soviet Union pursued a course of war to remain in power.
Gameplay
World in Conflict does not offer base-building or resource gathering. Instead, players are given a pre-determined amount of in-game reinforcement points to buy units. When a player buys a unit, the reinforcements points are subtracted from the point bank and the units are airdropped to the field, with a 20-second wait for the units to arrive. When a unit is destroyed, the points that had been used to purchase it are slowly filtered back to the player: thus reinforcements can be summoned back into the fray. Tactical gameplay lacking base and unit building is similar to real-time tactics (RTT)Real-time tactics
Real-time tactics or RTT is a subgenre of tactical wargames played in real-time simulating the considerations and circumstances of operational warfare and military tactics...
games, some of which feature intermittent reinforcements. Another example of the genre is Ground Control by Massive Entertainment, sometimes considered World in Conflicts spiritual predecessor. In fact, the game's designers considered the game to be an RTT, though the game is generally marketed
Marketing
Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...
as RTS.
World in Conflict contains three main factions: the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
& NATO, all playable in multiplayer games. However, only the US and NATO are the available factions in the single-player campaign. They are pitted against the Soviet Union throughout the story as well as in online play.
The player may choose one of four roles in battle: infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
, air
Air force
An air force, also known in some countries as an air army, is in the broadest sense, the national military organization that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army, navy or...
, support
Fire support
Fire support is long-range firepower provided to a front-line military unit. Typically, fire support is provided by artillery or close air support , and is used to shape the battlefield or, more optimistically, define the battle...
or armor
Armoured warfare
Armoured warfare or tank warfare is the use of armoured fighting vehicles in modern warfare. It is a major component of modern methods of war....
. The infantry role gives access to various infantry squads such as anti-tank teams, snipers, and light transport vehicles whereas armor allows players to use various classes of tanks, the dominant direct fire land combat unit of the game. Players choosing the air role have access to anti-armor, air superiority, scout and transport helicopters. Finally, the support role contains anti-air, artillery, and repair units. Each role's basic units can be purchased by everyone but are more expensive for players with a different role. In addition, each role has its own exclusive units, that aren't available for purchase from other roles.
The game relies heavily on teamplay; for example, a lone armor player can be easily defeated by an air player, whereas an air player would be ineffective if friendly armor players do not effectively neutralize enemy anti-air. This heavy reliance on teamplay has been met with some criticism by players since inexperienced players that do not teamplay can potentially spoil a match. The most prominent forms of this is support players only using heavy artillery and not using anti-air and repair units, leaving armor players exposed to enemy helicopters. The higher importance of armor than artillery, and the weakening of artillery's attack power by subsequent game patches has added to the problem.
Most units have special offensive and defensive abilities that recharge after use. For example, standard infantry has the offensive grenade launcher
Grenade launcher
A grenade launcher or grenade discharger is a weapon that launches a grenade with more accuracy, higher velocity, and to greater distances than a soldier could throw it by hand....
attack and are capable of a defensive sprinting maneuver. World in Conflict uses a tactical aid system similar to that of Command & Conquer: Generals
Command & Conquer: Generals
Command & Conquer: Generals is a real-time strategy game in the Command & Conquer series. Generals utilizes SAGE...
. Tactical Aids allow the player to perform special actions such as calling in airstrike
Airstrike
An air strike is an attack on a specific objective by military aircraft during an offensive mission. Air strikes are commonly delivered from aircraft such as fighters, bombers, ground attack aircraft, attack helicopters, and others...
s, deploying paratrooper
Paratrooper
Paratroopers are soldiers trained in parachuting and generally operate as part of an airborne force.Paratroopers are used for tactical advantage as they can be inserted into the battlefield from the air, thereby allowing them to be positioned in areas not accessible by land...
s, and to launch carpet bombing
Carpet bombing
Carpet bombing is a large aerial bombing done in a progressive manner to inflict damage in every part of a selected area of land. The phrase invokes the image of explosions completely covering an area, in the same way that a carpet covers a floor. Carpet bombing is usually achieved by dropping many...
raids.
Single player campaign
The single player campaign, owing to inspiration from Call of DutyCall of Duty (series)
Call of Duty is a first-person and third-person shooter video game series franchise, created by Ben Chichoski. The series began on the PC, and later expanded to consoles and handhelds. Several spin-off games have also been released...
and Medal of Honor
Medal of Honor series
Medal of Honor is the name of a series of first-person shooter games set in World War II, with an October 2010 reboot based on the conflicts of present day Afghanistan. The first game was developed by DreamWorks Interactive and published by Electronic Arts in 1999 for the PlayStation game console...
(see the 'Influences' section below), puts the player in the role of Lieutenant Parker, a United States Army officer in charge of a company. His face is never shown throughout the entire campaign. Meanwhile the AI handles the remainder of action on the battlefield, though a large portion of the action is still focused on the player. This contrasts the approach of other real time strategy (RTS) titles, in which the player is in charge of whole armies and thus responsible for most of the action on the battlefield. The player can see action at many different locations in the United States, Europe and Russia.
The campaign mode differs from the skirmish and multi player modes in that it restricts the units that can be deployed. The campaign mode is narrated by Alec Baldwin
Alec Baldwin
Alexander Rae "Alec" Baldwin III is an American actor who has appeared on film, stage, and television.Baldwin first gained recognition through television for his work in the soap opera Knots Landing in the role of Joshua Rush. He was a cast member for two seasons before his character was killed off...
throughout.
Multiplayer
Multi-player games support up to sixteen players and can be played on a LAN or over the Internet. Three types of maps are featured: domination maps, where players must control command points to win the game, assault maps, where one team defends a series of command points which the other teams assaults, and tug of war maps, where teams must fight to capture a series of command points on the front line, whereupon the line shifts towards a new set of points closer to the losing team. One side plays as either the United States or NATO, while the other as the Soviet Union. Neither side has any sort of advantage.Roles
When players first begin to play a game, they choose one of four roles to play. The four roles are Infantry, Armor, Air, or Support. The infantry role commands regular ground forces, the armor role mainly controls various types of tanks, and the air role controls various types of helicopters. The support role is the most broad, filling the remaining units such as artillery, anti-air units, and repair units. Although it is possible to mix roles, units in a role other than the one chosen by the player will be more expensive to call in.All of these roles have their own strengths and weaknesses. For example, when placed in cover (like buildings or forests), the infantry squad can remain hidden until they attack or are attacked by enemies, creating decent ambush points, but they are very vulnerable to fire when on open ground. Armor is good for assaulting, holding, and defending command points. The Armor role is also very efficient at engaging large amounts of enemies, but is easy to ambush and very weak against air units. Helicopters move very fast and can ignore all terrain obstacles like buildings or forests, and are also strong against all ground units. However, just two anti-air (AA) units is enough to destroy a whole squadron of helicopters in seconds. Helicopters can not capture command points. The support role provides services that no other role can provide, such as long range artillery fire, repairing of vehicles, and anti-air units, but is useless in close-combat.
Tactical Aid
Tactical aid points can be earned by destroying enemy units or capturing command points. These tactical aid points can be spent on heavy long-range fire support, extra units, or radar to see hidden or not-visible units. Based on how many points the player has, they can call in fire support like air strikes, napalm, chemical bombs, carpet bombs, and even nukes.Unit Deployment
Each player starts the game with 4000 reinforcement points, which they spend to get their early units. This number will increase over time, and playing well will make it increase faster. After a brief period of time, the player will once more be capable of calling in more units to the battlefield.Online Match Modes
Around each important landmark on all of the dozens of playable maps will be tiny circles called command points. Each command point will have two-four of these circles, and the point is captured when the player or their allies allies have units in all of them. Players can then reinforce these points by simply leaving units in them, which will build up an anti-infantry fortification first, followed by an anti-tank fortification, and finally an anti-air fortification. These can be destroyed and rebuilt infinite times, as command points, especially centrally located ones will change hands throughout the course of the game.While not absolutely necessary to win, capturing command points gives many bonuses. The fortifications are always helpful, as it will make the enemy think twice before blazing past those positions. Also, most of the command points are in strategic positions, like hills good for launching artillery fire, or in heavily urban areas with lots of cover for infantry.
The game ends when one side is completely dominant over the other, or when 20 minutes are up, in which case, whichever side is winning at the time is declared the winner. A bar is displayed at the top of the screen showing the status of both armies. After the game is over, the score sheet will be displayed, showing who did the best and who did the worst, also giving specific details, like the most successful player in each role, and who did best at directing TA. These points are reported to the massgate server and affects the players' rank in the game.
Artificial intelligence
The game host can add bots to play on the server. The AIArtificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
is quite proficient, using different techniques for different game types and using a variety of forces together, so there are few weaknesses. Bots adapt quickly and react well to changing situations on the battlefield, and are also quite good at using tactical aids effectively. Bots try to obey commands given by the player by replying on-screen.
Rankings
The online component of the game uses the in-game massgate system, which is derived from Ground Control. The system helps players keep track of friends, allowing them to see whether they are online or playing a game. Clans can be created and kept track of in-game, with features such as ranks and clan matches. Massgate includes leader boards and a ranking system based on US Army military ranks. Players can increase their rank and leader board position in a way similar to Battlefield 2Battlefield 2
Battlefield 2 is a computer game by the Swedish developer Digital Illusions CE . During development, Trauma Studios contributed to the development of the game after it was acquired by DICE...
, by accumulating earnings and scoring points, medals, and badges. Achieving higher ranks becomes progressively more difficult. The leader board also keeps track of clan rankings.
Interface
The game interface for World in Conflict is smaller than that of other strategy games. There is no framing in the game, so the interface is dramatically reduced especially at the bottom middle. The middle is replaced with a list of units, whereas the top right hand corner contains the expandable reinforcement procurement list. The mini map is in the bottom left hand corner, while the bottom right hand corner contains the special abilities buttons (including unit formation). Overall, the smaller interface gives players a bigger view of the battlefield, allowing players to micromanage more easily than in other strategy games. Players can also use a messaging system that is designed to allow conversation between individuals regardless of whether they are on the same server or playing the same game.World in Conflict features a fully rotational 360 degree camera. The player uses the WASD keys to move the camera around the map, while clicking and holding the mouse wheel is used to look around from a fixed position, players can also move the camera very close to the units on the ground.
Plot
The game is set in an alternative 1989 in which the Soviet UnionSoviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
elects to take military action to sustain itself, rather than collapse. Failing to achieve aid diplomatically, Soviet forces invade Western Europe
Western Europe
Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...
. The player assumes the role of First Lieutenant
First Lieutenant
First lieutenant is a military rank and, in some forces, an appointment.The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations , but the majority of cases it is common for it to be sub-divided into a senior and junior rank...
Parker, a United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
officer who serves with the disgraced Captain Bannon, under the command of Colonel
Colonel (United States)
In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, colonel is a senior field grade military officer rank just above the rank of lieutenant colonel and just below the rank of brigadier general...
Sawyer.
.jpg)
Strategic Defense Initiative
The Strategic Defense Initiative was proposed by U.S. President Ronald Reagan on March 23, 1983 to use ground and space-based systems to protect the United States from attack by strategic nuclear ballistic missiles. The initiative focused on strategic defense rather than the prior strategic...
. They are unaware that the project is a bluff; its existence having thus far kept the Soviet Union from launching a nuclear strike
Nuclear strike
Nuclear strike may refer to:* Nuclear warfare* An installation in the Strike series of video games* "Nuclear Strike", an episode of the BBC television series Spooks...
. Therefore the facility's defense takes top priority, and Sawyer and his forces engage in a series of delaying battles en route to the Fort. However, Soviet forces overwhelm them at Cascade Falls and a plan is made to launch a nuclear strike at the town, ensuring victory but needing volunteers to pin the enemy down. While everyone else flees, an apologetic Bannon finally finds redemption by volunteering. The tactical nuclear missile is fired at the town; annihilating Bannon, his company
Company (military unit)
A company is a military unit, typically consisting of 80–225 soldiers and usually commanded by a Captain, Major or Commandant. Most companies are formed of three to five platoons although the exact number may vary by country, unit type, and structure...
and the Soviet forces.
A flashback to the outbreak of the war reveals that diplomats from both sides had labored for a month but had ultimately failed. Sawyer, Parker and Bannon serve in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
as part of a NATO counteroffensive to drive off a Soviet invasion near Marseille
Marseille
Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...
, but while successful, Bannon's negligence results in the death of the French liaison, Commandant Sabatier. Later, they are sent on a secret mission inside the Soviet Union to retrieve intelligence from a crashed prototype B-2 bomber, which leads them to a Soviet naval yard where they destroy submarines to be used in an invasion of the U.S. East Coast. During the operation Bannon accidentally kills Soviet civilians. Later, Parker and the battalion assist U.S. Army Rangers in fighting off the aforementioned invasion of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
by Soviet Spetsnaz
Spetsnaz
Spetsnaz, Specnaz tr: Voyska specialnogo naznacheniya; ) is an umbrella term for any special forces in Russian, literally "force of special purpose"...
. The Soviets intend to store chemical weapons
Chemical warfare
Chemical warfare involves using the toxic properties of chemical substances as weapons. This type of warfare is distinct from Nuclear warfare and Biological warfare, which together make up NBC, the military acronym for Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical...
inside the Statue of Liberty
Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, designed by Frédéric Bartholdi and dedicated on October 28, 1886...
and release them over Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
. With Parker's effective assault Liberty Island is retaken and an air strike that would destroy the iconic statue is called off. Sawyer, disgusted with Bannon's incompetence, reassigns him to a supply depot in Seattle while Parker goes there on leave to visit his family.
Returning to the present time after the nuclear strike, the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
has entered the war as a Soviet ally. China launches attacks into Asia, and sends an invasion fleet to reinforce the Soviet beachhead in Seattle. The U.S. President orders the surviving Army units from the attack on Cascade Falls to attack Seattle, and as a backup plan orders a nuclear strike against Seattle should this attempt fail. Sawyer, desperate to avoid another Cascade Falls on a bigger scale, orders his forces to attack before the Chinese can land. They succeed in breaking through the Red Army's defense perimeter around Seattle, and capture Puget Sound
Puget Sound
Puget Sound is a sound in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected marine waterways and basins, with one major and one minor connection to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Pacific Ocean — Admiralty Inlet being the major connection and...
to secure Soviet anti-ship missile launchers
Anti-ship missile
Anti-ship missiles are guided missiles that are designed for use against ships and large boats. Most anti-ship missiles are of the sea-skimming type, many use a combination of inertial guidance and radar homing...
for use against the Chinese fleet. The reinforced US battalions launch their counterattack, spearheaded by the 5th battalion. Seattle is retaken from the Soviets before the Chinese fleet arrives, thus delivering a decisive blow as the Chinese are unable to launch an amphibious assault themselves. Consequently, the fleet return to China, with a concluding statement that Parker may be called upon to fight later on.
Development
Influences
The game's designers have cited the 1984 film Red DawnRed Dawn
Red Dawn is a 1984 American war film directed by John Milius and co-written by Milius and Kevin Reynolds. It stars Patrick Swayze, C. Thomas Howell, Lea Thompson, Charlie Sheen and Jennifer Grey....
as one of their key influences. The film's main premise is the invasion of America by Soviet and Central American troops. Echoes of the film can be seen in the initial paratroop landings (though in the film they happen in Colorado) and in the use of civilian transports to disguise a Soviet invasion force; again, this differs slightly from the film. Also, in the Soviet Assault
World in Conflict: Soviet Assault
World in Conflict: Soviet Assault is an expansion pack developed by Massive Entertainment and Swordfish Studios for the real-time tactics video game World in Conflict...
expansion, the name of the Soviet invasion of Germany (and presumably the United States) is referred to as Operation Red Dawn.
Tom Clancy's novel Red Storm Rising
Red Storm Rising
Red Storm Rising is a 1986 techno-thriller novel by Tom Clancy and Larry Bond about a Third World War in Europe between NATO and Warsaw Pact forces, set around the mid-1980s...
is likely to have some elements drawn from it; as it depicts a conventional war between NATO and the Warsaw Pact in West Germany, though much of the action takes place at sea. An added factor was that the co-author of the book, Larry Bond
Larry Bond
Larry Bond is an American writer and wargame designer. He is the designer of the Harpoon and Command at Sea gaming systems and several supplements for the games. His numerous novels include Dangerous Ground, Day of Wrath, The Enemy Within, Cauldron, Vortex and Red Phoenix...
, was the main consultant for the World in Conflict team.
Another influence for the game, according to issue 7 of the WiC Journal, are the first-person shooter
First-person shooter
First-person shooter is a video game genre that centers the gameplay on gun and projectile weapon-based combat through first-person perspective; i.e., the player experiences the action through the eyes of a protagonist. Generally speaking, the first-person shooter shares common traits with other...
game series Call of Duty
Call of Duty (series)
Call of Duty is a first-person and third-person shooter video game series franchise, created by Ben Chichoski. The series began on the PC, and later expanded to consoles and handhelds. Several spin-off games have also been released...
and Medal of Honor
Medal of Honor series
Medal of Honor is the name of a series of first-person shooter games set in World War II, with an October 2010 reboot based on the conflicts of present day Afghanistan. The first game was developed by DreamWorks Interactive and published by Electronic Arts in 1999 for the PlayStation game console...
, and how the games give the player a relatively small role in a big conflict and will command small numbers of units at a time rather than whole hordes. The developers, still according to the journal, have also looked to the games Battlefield 2
Battlefield 2
Battlefield 2 is a computer game by the Swedish developer Digital Illusions CE . During development, Trauma Studios contributed to the development of the game after it was acquired by DICE...
and Counter-Strike: Source
Counter-Strike: Source
Counter-Strike: Source is an FPS video game developed by Valve Corporation. It is a complete remake of Counter-Strike using the Source game engine. As in the original, Counter-Strike: Source pits a team of counter-terrorists against a team of terrorists in a series of rounds...
for inspiration.
Marketing
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin...
, Modern Marvels: The Berlin Wall DVD by The History Channel, Behind the Scenes DVD and World in Conflict exclusive Creative
Creative Technology
Creative Technology Ltd. is a Singapore-based global company headquartered in Jurong East, Singapore. The principal activities of the company and its subsidiaries consist of the design, manufacture and distribution of digitized sound and video boards, computers and related multimedia, and personal...
HS-390 headset (Europe Only). Those who had preordered the game were given access to the Beta, the ability to preserve their username and clans, and either received the Modern Marvels: Strategic Air Command or the Declassified: The Rise and Fall of The Wall DVD by the History Channel depending upon which area of the world one was situated in.
The collector's edition in Poland is different compared to collector's editions in other countries. It includes an exclusive World in Conflict wooden container, limited edition collector's box art packaging (Soviet or USA Flag), a full-sized flag of the USA or Soviet Union, an exclusive World in Conflict poster, a t-shirt and cap with the World in Conflict logo and decorations and a World in Conflict exclusive Trust Hs-2200 headset.
The collector's edition available in Taiwan, is also different. As there was no preorder scheme put into place. It includes an exclusive flag of the Soviet Union, a Modern Marvels: Strategic Air Command DVD by the History Channel, Special translated behind the scenes DVD, Metallic packaging featuring the Soviet Flag on the front, and the USA flag on the back.
The game was re-released under World in Conflict Complete Edition including the new expansion Soviet Assault all in one game.
Reception
World in Conflict has received generally excellent reviews. It topped weekly sales charts in North America, Germany and Australia in the week it was released. It received "generally favorable reviews" from game critics according to the review aggregator MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, where the game has an average score of 89%. Gamespot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
called the game "the studio's masterwork". They gave it 9.5 out of 10 and the editor's choice award. The game also received the editor's choice award from IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
and the Australian gaming magazine PC PowerPlay
PC PowerPlay
PC PowerPlay is Australia's only dedicated PC games magazine. Also available in New Zealand, PC PowerPlay focuses on news and reviews for upcoming and newly released games on the Microsoft Windows platform. The magazine also reviews computer hardware for use on gaming computers...
, as well as PC Zone
PC Zone
PC Zone was the first magazine dedicated to games for IBM-compatible personal computers to be published in the United Kingdom. Earlier PC magazines such as PC Leisure, PC Format and PC Plus had covered games but only as part of a wider remit. PC Zone was founded in 1993.The magazine was published...
's classic award. PC Gamer US awarded the game its editor's choice award, as well as naming it the 2007 RTS game of the year.
Prior to its initial release in September 2007, World in Conflict received several awards from its E3 presentation in 2007.
- IGN: Best PC Strategy Game, Best Strategy Game (All Platforms), Best Of E3 2007
- Gamespot: Best Strategy Game Of E3, E3'07 Editors Choice Award
- GameTrailers.com: Best Strategy Game Of E3
- Game Critics: E3 2007 Best Strategy Game, The Best Of E3 07 Winner
The game was played in the 2007 Cyberathlete Professional League
Cyberathlete Professional League
The Cyberathlete Professional League , founded on June 27, 1997 by gaming entrepreneur Angel Munoz, is a professional sports tournament organization specializing in computer and console video game competitions....
(CPL) World Tour.
World in Conflict: Soviet Assault
A new expansion of the game, called World in Conflict: Soviet Assault, has been released for Windows since March 2009. Plans to release the game under the same name for home consoles, the Xbox 360Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
and the PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
have been dropped.
The new edition includes a brand new campaign from the Soviet perspective. New maps are included as well as new movies and cut scenes, however there are no new units included.
On July 29, 2008, Activision dropped World in Conflict: Soviet Assault from production along with a number of other games putting the future of the game in question. On August 6, 2008, Activision Blizzard put up Massive Entertainment for sale. Massive Entertainment
Massive Entertainment
Massive - A Ubisoft Studio is a Swedish video game company based in Malmö, Sweden. The company is fully owned by Ubisoft. They are best known for the Ground Control series of real-time tactics video games. They were acquired by Vivendi Universal Games in 2002...
has since been acquired by Ubisoft
Ubisoft
Ubisoft Entertainment S.A. is a major French video game publisher and developer, with headquarters in Montreuil, France. The company has a worldwide presence with 25 studios in 17 countries and subsidiaries in 26 countries....
. The game was released on March 13, 2009 in several formats. It was packaged under World in Conflict: Complete Edition which is the new retail collection, containing both World in Conflict and the expansion, Soviet Assault. The Complete pack was available through retail stores, Steam download and Direct2Drive download. Soviet Assault was also released separately as a download for owners of the original WiC, through Steam and D2D and also in a retail version.