Players of popular massively multiplayer online (MMO) vehicle combat game War Thunder may be the most dedicated in modern gaming, with the news breaking today that actual military secrets had been leaked on a forum dedicated to the game. 

Incredibly, this isn’t even the first time it’s happened, with some players claiming there have been up to five previous examples. This time, it was details of a Chinese anti-tank missile leaked, with players sharing the classified info in an attempt to encourage developers Gaijin Entertainment to make a more realistic product.

According to a report in Eurogamer, the classified documents shared on the forum related to the specifications of the DTC10-125 Chinese anti-tank missile, which fans wanted to make sure was realistically depicted in-game. The post on the War Thunder forum was quickly removed, with a statement saying: "Materials related to the DTC10-125 are classified in China".

The fun is only compounded when you add the detail that the poster only put the classified details on the forum in response to details of a forthcoming update, which had been posted using placeholder values. Apparently, this was taken as being the values that would be added to the game when the update released, which sent the user into a fit of rage about realism, and prompted them to share the forbidden information.

"...kindly asking them not to do anything illegal"

In a statement given to PC Gamer, the developers confirmed the user had been banned for the post. "Our community managers immediately banned the user and deleted his post, as the information on this particular shell is still classified in China," Gaijin are quoted as saying. "Publishing classified information on any vehicle of any nation at War Thunder forums is clearly prohibited, and the game developers never use it in their work.”

They also implied that such posts have the potential to put them in harm’s way, going on to say that they are “...kindly asking them not to do anything illegal and jeopardize their safety, as well as the safety of our community team members. The developers of War Thunder do their best to research information on vehicles using legally available tools, and scandals like this are clearly not useful for our efforts."

What makes this most interesting is the fact War Thunder fans have form for this sort of thing, with British and French tanks in the player base’s crosshairs in 2021. Fans also claim the same happened with German and Chinese tanks on previous occasions, although Inven Global were unable to verify those reports.