To prove a user right in a discussion about a Challenger 2 tank, he unceremoniously leaked secret military documents
Many of you know it, maybe even from our forum or the comments section: You are having a heated discussion with another user who, in your opinion, is definitely in the wrong. You want to prove him wrong – or simply emerge from the discussion as the winner.
To do this, you not only write long posts, but also look for any circumstances that could help you. A user in the forum of the multiplayer military game War Thunder has now clearly overshot the mark.
Player leaks secret military documents
Since 2019, tank enthusiasts have been discussing the Challenger 2 on the War Thunder forum: on over 300 pages, users have been arguing about, among other things, whether the British battle tank is represented accurately enough in the game.
What the war machine looks like in the game is explained quite extensively by the developers in the following YouTube video:
The user Fear_Naught in particular claims to have found major flaws: He claims to have been active as a tank commander in a Challenger 2. According to him, the gap between the basic structure of the turret and the armour at the front of the tank is too wide. The user has therefore posted some documents which are supposed to show that the gap is much narrower in the real tank. More specifically, he posted photos of pages from the Challenger 2’s manual and maintenance manual. Too bad these documents are actually classified top secret.
This is how the developers react: Instead of granting the rebellious player his wish, the developers contacted the British Ministry of Defence. The Ministry of Defence pointed out that the published documents must not be released under any circumstances – even a further distribution of these is strictly prohibited, as it is a violation of the “Official Secrets Act”. This offence can lead to a prison sentence of up to 14 years if prosecuted.
Gaijin Entertainment has since removed all references to the leaked documents from its forum. Absurdly, some tank fanatics are now still hoping that the Challenger 2 will be adapted in the game. The developers gave them a clear rejection:
“We make it very clear that we do not edit source material unless it is publicly available and fully declassified.”
What do you think of the action? Do you understand that some players want more realism? Back in 2017, we reported on the realism problem in games and related misconceptions. Feel free to write us your opinion in the comments!
