Armored Warfare Pushes Out Big "Tanks Reloaded" Update, But Is It Enough?

It feels like we've been talking about Armored Warfare's Update 0.19 ... a.k.a. Balance 2.0 ... a.k.a. "Tanks Reloaded" ... forever. Today, though, it's finally here, hitting both North American and EU servers. We've already covered most of its big changes already, and you can get a full rundown on the game's website.

Rather than rehash those changes, I'd rather use this space to ponder AW's future -- and mainly, whether it has one. This update was in the works before the change in development teams, and likely represents Obsidian Entertainment's last real work on the game. It was already mostly done, so there wasn't much reason not to put the finishing touches on it and push it out the door.

Now, will Mail.ru and My.com continue to invest in the game if activity doesn't pick up? Can this update bring in new players/bring back old ones? To be honest, I'm doubtful. I think Armored Warfare is a good game, but World of Tanks has such a stranglehold on the genre that I'm not sure anything can dislodge it -- at least nothing meant to be a "WoT clone," as that one person put it. AW is shinier and has some nice features, but die-hard WoT fans already have their game and aren't likely to switch over.

I know, the day of a big update is supposed to be happy and joyous, but I can't help feeling a little sad for Armored Warfare. I wonder whether this is the last big piece of news we'll see about it for a while. Well, positive news, at least.