Enlisted

Most WWII shooters put you in charge of one soldier and call it a day. Enlisted, from War Thunder developer Gaijin (built with Darkflow Software), hands you a whole squad instead — recruit, arm, and level up AI troops, then lead them through recreated battles across the war's major fronts, swapping into tanks and planes when the fight calls for it.

Short version: it's a genuinely different shooter structure that most of the genre doesn't attempt, with real squad-command depth layered on top of standard WWII shooter combat.

Quick verdict: Enlisted is worth installing if you want WWII shooter combat with real squad-command depth and the option to hop into tanks or planes mid-match. Skip it if you strictly want a one-life, one-soldier shooter without the extra layer.

Key takeaways:

• A free-to-play WWII squad-based shooter by Gaijin Entertainment and Darkflow Software
• You command a full squad of AI-controlled troops, not just a single soldier
• Battles are set across real WWII fronts — Moscow, Normandy, Stalingrad, Berlin, Tunisia, and the Pacific
• Mid-match, you can switch into tanks and aircraft as the front line shifts, not just stay locked to infantry
• From the same developer as War Thunder, sharing some of its combined-arms DNA in shooter form
• Free to download and play, Windows only

What Is Enlisted?

Enlisted is a free-to-play WWII shooter developed by Gaijin Entertainment (the studio behind War Thunder) alongside Darkflow Software. Instead of controlling a single soldier, you command a full squad — recruiting, equipping, and leveling up AI-controlled troops who fight alongside you — across battles recreated from real fronts of the war.

It's built around historical authenticity in its battle selection: campaigns cover Moscow, Normandy, Stalingrad, the Battle of Berlin, Tunisia, and the Pacific theater, each with period-accurate weapons and vehicles.

What Makes Enlisted Interesting?

Squad command is the core hook. Rather than one life per soldier, you control a small AI-assisted squad, which changes the feel of engagements — losing a squad member is a setback, not an instant respawn-and-forget, and positioning your whole squad matters as much as your individual aim.

The other thing that sets it apart from most WWII shooters is combined-arms flexibility mid-match: you're not locked to infantry for the whole battle. As the front shifts, you can switch into tanks or aircraft to support your squad directly, giving individual matches a broader tactical shape than a typical infantry-only shooter.

Gameplay

Matches play out on large-scale recreations of real WWII battles, with your squad as the core unit — command troops to hold positions, push objectives, or provide covering fire while you personally handle the riskiest engagements. Squad members can be equipped and leveled independently, so building out a squad's loadout over time is part of the progression loop alongside your own soldier.

Combined-arms elements come in as matches develop: armor support and air cover are available to call on or pilot directly, giving Enlisted a broader tactical rhythm than most single-soldier WWII shooters, closer in spirit to the multi-domain battles in War Thunder but built around ground-level squad combat instead.

Squad Tactics and Front Selection

Building an effective squad is where a lot of the strategic depth lives — balancing riflemen, automatic weapons, and specialists within a squad, then leveling and equipping them individually, changes how a squad performs across different fronts and objectives. It rewards planning a loadout for the specific battle you're dropping into rather than running one generic build everywhere.

Front selection matters too: each of the game's campaigns (Moscow, Normandy, Stalingrad, Berlin, Tunisia, Pacific) has its own vehicle roster, weapon tech tree, and terrain style, so progression and strategy shift meaningfully depending on which front you're fighting on.

Who Is Enlisted For?

This fits players who want WWII shooter combat with more tactical depth than run-and-gun — if commanding a squad and thinking about loadouts and positioning sounds more appealing than lone-wolf respawn shooting, this is built for that. It also suits players who like combined-arms flexibility without wanting the full vehicle-sim depth of a dedicated tank or flight game.

If it's the vehicle combat specifically you want more of — deeper tank, plane, and ship sims without the infantry-shooter framing — War Thunder from the same developer goes considerably deeper on that side.

It's a worse fit if you want a purely infantry, one-life-per-round shooter without squad management or vehicle sections mixed in.

What You Should Know Before Playing

There's a real learning curve around squad management in the opening hours — deciding how to build and equip your squad, and when to hold troops back versus commit them, takes some getting used to if you're coming from a standard single-soldier shooter.

As with most free-to-play military shooters, expect a progression grind for higher-tier weapons and vehicles, with premium options available to speed things up. None of it is required to play competitively, but it's part of the standard model here.

Pros:

• Genuinely different squad-command structure most WWII shooters don't attempt
• Real historical front variety — Moscow, Normandy, Stalingrad, Berlin, Tunisia, Pacific
• Combined-arms flexibility lets you shift into tanks and aircraft mid-match
• Free to download with no subscription required
• Built by an experienced vehicle-combat developer (Gaijin, of War Thunder)

Cons:

• Squad management adds a real learning curve over standard shooters
• Progression grind for higher-tier gear, with premium options to speed it up
• Windows only — no console or Mac release
• Smaller player base than genre giants like Call of Duty or Battlefield

Is Enlisted Worth Playing in 2026?

Yes, if squad-based WWII combat with combined-arms flexibility sounds appealing — it's still one of the few shooters attempting this structure, and Gaijin has kept adding fronts and content since launch rather than letting it stagnate. The squad-command layer genuinely changes how engagements feel compared to typical single-soldier shooters.

The honest downside is the same one most free-to-play military shooters share: real progression grind at higher tiers, with premium purchases available to speed it up.

How to Start Playing Enlisted

Enlisted is available on PC through Gaijin's official site and on Steam — it's free to download and play, Windows only, with no subscription required.

FAQ

Is Enlisted free to play? Yes. It's free to download and play on Windows, with optional premium purchases for faster progression.

Is Enlisted on console? No — it's Windows-only on PC as of this writing.

How is Enlisted different from a typical WWII shooter? You command a full AI-assisted squad instead of a single soldier, and can switch into tanks or aircraft mid-match rather than staying locked to infantry.

Is Enlisted made by the same studio as War Thunder? Yes — it's developed by Gaijin Entertainment (with Darkflow Software), the studio behind War Thunder, and shares some of its combined-arms design philosophy.

Which WWII fronts does Enlisted cover? Moscow, Normandy, Stalingrad, the Battle of Berlin, Tunisia, and the Pacific theater, each with period-accurate weapons and vehicles.

Is Enlisted pay-to-win? Premium purchases speed up progression, but core gameplay and squad command are fully accessible for free.