Shooters about World War II on PC have long gone beyond entertainment. They have formed a separate ecosystem where strategies, numbers, and the sound of gunfire replace the narrator. These games have become digital archives — each project offers its own view of the events of 1939-1945, turning the battle into a meaningful reconstruction of the global conflict.
Heroes & Generals — a large-scale chessboard with automatic weapons
Shooters about World War II on PC rarely combine shooter gameplay with global strategy. Heroes & Generals uses this model. Each battle is just one move in a large-scale war between factions. The game combines session battles with management elements. Here, the player manages logistics, aviation, armored vehicles, and infantry in real-time.
Developers from Reto-Moto have implemented the mechanics of moving armies across the map of Europe, integrating resource economics. Over 70 types of vehicles, including Zündapp motorcycles and Panther tanks. Uniqueness lies in the balance: a novice shoots, a veteran commands. A community has formed with a pool of over 13 million users.
Wolfenstein: The New Order — dystopia in a magazine
Alternative history turns these projects into a platform for satire. The game demonstrates how the fictional victory of the Third Reich in the 1960s transforms the world into a technological dictatorship.
Machine Games gave the shooter visual power — exoskeletons, combat vehicles, brutalist laboratories, and retro-futuristic ambiance. The id Tech 5 engine provides cinematic dynamics. The story includes operations in London, escaping from a lunar base, and the destruction of superweapons. The legendary BJ Blazkowicz is not just a soldier but a symbol of resistance.
Brothers in Arms 3: Sons of War — tactics in the palm of your hand
Among games about World War II, this game entered the mobile segment but easily adapts to PC. Gameloft included tactical maneuvers, allowing orders to be given to the squad — assault, cover, suppression. The mission structure is based on real operations of the American army.
Over 12 soldiers with individual skills and upgrade capabilities. The visuals are closer to cinema than arcade. The campaign takes place in Normandy, and the weapons replicate models with factory precision: M1 Garand, Thompson M1928, Springfield M1903.
Wolfenstein: The Old Blood — a prelude with a dark German flair
Shooters about World War II on PC rarely use a gothic style. But this one transports you to 1946 — the prehistory to The New Order. Developers built a castle on the foundation of historical clichés, infusing each level with the spirit of secret operations.
The main focus is on close combat, stealth, and devastating double-barreled shotgun. The game has 8 chapters filled with hidden locations, documents, alternative paths. Developers paid attention to details: German posters, gramophones playing military marches, chessboards in barracks. The atmosphere acts as a separate narrative tool.
Battalion 1944 — discipline, numbers, speed
The blend of retro and modernity makes this project special. Shooters about World War II on PC here acquire the rhythm of an esports discipline. Bulkhead Interactive drew inspiration from Medal of Honor and early Call of Duty, maintaining a focus on skill and competitiveness.
Three modes: Wartide (5v5), Capture the Flag, and Team Deathmatch. Maps for up to 16 players with esports design — narrow passages, control points, verticality. Ballistics work on a hit-scan principle, response time is less than 100 ms. Every shot requires precision like a surgical operation.
Enlisted — a front simulator in a mass format
Games with high ratings often neglect realism, but Enlisted acts the opposite. Gaijin Entertainment and Darkflow Software created a battle simulator where up to 100 soldiers participate in each skirmish. Squad gameplay is a feature where the player controls a group of soldiers, switching between them.
Shooters about World War II on PC rarely implement campaigns by countries. Here, Normandy, Moscow, Berlin, and Tunisia are available. The arsenal includes tanks like T-34, Panzer IV, planes like Ju 87 and LaGG-3. Firefights feel realistic — each shot is accompanied by recoil, bullet whizzing, ricochet.
Day of Infamy — “sandstorm” with antique rifles
The game evolves as a branch of Insurgency but set in the ambiance of the 1940s. The focus is on teamwork, support, and point control. Sound design enhances immersion: commands are in German and English, shots are deafening, radios crackle.
Main features:
- 9 classes (assault, officer, radioman, etc.).
- Over 30 types of weapons, including Lee-Enfield, MP40, BAR.
- Weather effects and destructible maps.
- 10 maps, including “Sicily,” “Bastogne,” “Florence.”
- Optimization for low-end PCs.
Shooters about World War II on PC in this format offer more than just arcade gameplay — they cultivate a habit of team play.
Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus — sabotage to a jazz soundtrack
The project showcases a blend of brutality and aesthetics. The story transports you to an alternative America occupied by Nazis. The main focus is on personalized resistance against totalitarianism. The action unfolds in New Mexico, New Orleans, and on the submarine “Hammerfaust.”
The physics of shootouts intensifies the dynamics: explosions toss bodies, walls crumble, laser weapon fire burns passages in armor. The arsenal includes Sturmgewehr 46, DieselKraftWerk, ElektrokraftWerk, and upgraded Luger pistol. Skill upgrades unlock additional combat styles — stealth, destruction, mobility. Behind the scenes — direction in the style of Tarantino, genre blending, and a soundtrack with blues and 60s psychedelia elements.
Hell Let Loose — strategy in every trench
Among WWII shooters on PC, HLL stands out for its scale and discipline. Battles involve 100 players, where cohesion is more important than accuracy. Each is part of a squad: rifleman, engineer, sapper, or artilleryman.
On 14 maps created from satellite data (Carinthia, Omaha, Hurtgen), fierce battles unfold. Unreal Engine 4 provides photorealism: volumetric clouds, detailed terrain, dynamic lighting. Sounds — from muffled explosions to deafening mortars — enhance the sense of presence.
Success depends on logistics: ammo, fortifications, routes. It’s not just a shooter but almost a simulator — lone wolves don’t survive, artillery breaks cover, and mistakes come at a cost.
Post Scriptum — chronology in shooter realism format
The game is based on precise reconstruction of historical battles. Operation “Market Garden,” Battle of Arnhem, Normandy landings. Shooters about World War II on PC rarely delve so deeply into details. The Periscope Games team created not just a networked FPS but a documentary gamification of combat operations.
The project offers over 50 units of equipment: Sherman tanks, Churchill, Bedford trucks, BMW R75 motorcycles. Ballistics consider wind speed, gravity, and caliber. The interface is minimal, UI is almost absent. Communication happens through voice channels — squad leader gives orders, radio operator connects with headquarters.
Each battle lasts from 60 to 120 minutes. Day turns into night, resources are dwindling, engineering and reinforcements decide the outcome — the system works like a living organism. Post Scriptum turns the screen into a battlefield with precise military logic and historical weight.
Conclusion
Shooters about World War II on PC have long surpassed simple shootouts. These projects convey the spirit of the era through mechanics, visuals, and sound. Heroes & Generals adds a strategic scale, Wolfenstein offers alternative history, Enlisted and Post Scriptum provide authentic realism. Each title reveals the 1939-1945 conflict in its own way, maintaining the common vector — understanding war through interactivity.