The END of Pay To Win in WWII Online: INtroducing, "Victory Points."

We’re introducing a completely new way for Free Players to experience WWII Online — “Victory Points.”

This new system is designed to eliminate any perception or reality of pay-to-win gameplay by giving everyone a fair, skill-based path toward unlocking premium equipment through meaningful in-game actions.

Since launching our Free-to-Play model in 2012, we’ve heard the community’s feedback loud and clear: new players often felt locked out of competitive gear. With Victory Points, that changes. Free Players can now earn access to more powerful units through contribution and teamwork — while our subscription tiers (Premium, All-Infantry, and Hero Builder) remain the best-value, all-access experience that keeps WWII Online alive and thriving.

This update isn’t just a system change — it’s a commitment to fairness, accessibility, and the long-term health of WWII Online, as it directly incentivizes our Free Player body to earn rank and victory points by investing their time toward the overall greater good of the game.

Listen to XOOM outline Victory Points at a high level. Details contained below.

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A completely new way for Free Players to experience WWII Online — “Victory Points” — aimed at eradicating the perception or reality of pay-to-win game play.

Since the inception of our Free to Play model (circa 2012), we’ve received harsh criticism that the game is pay-to-win, meaning free players are unable to experience competitive gear. Until now, WWII Online’s technology has limited what we could offer, requiring strict access rules to prevent subscription attrition — which is crucial to our ongoing operations.

Victory Points (or VP for short) are intended to bridge that gap, continuing to prioritize paid subscriptions as the obvious go-to choice with the best value offer, but opening the door to free players by receiving premium unlocks via in-game grinding.

This will be achieved by providing Victory Points to players who assist with logistics operations, whether it’s truck driving, deploying mobile spawns, leading missions, guarding capture points, resupplying your teammates, capturing an enemy position, blowing up bridges and fire bases, repairing bridges and on a lighter scale, combat actions.

The system has a clear emphasis on supporting your side and teammates which will help you earn far more points than just straight combat actions. We want to encourage the behavior of free players to do the work related to the global effort for your side, not just farm kills and unlock stuff.

LIMITATIONS, MONETIZATION, AND INCENTIVIZING BALANCE

Which brings us to our next point… there will be daily caps, based on a 24-hour play cycle in how many Victory Points a player can receive. The intent behind this is to ensure that premium users are not being undercut, and that the results from free players are real. We will always place a stronger value behind our subscriptions which has kept us in operation for almost 24 years.

In time (after initial roll-out), Victory Points may also be available like micro-transactions as well, which are non-recurring, and override your daily limits in terms of how much you can earn, but the points and values from grinding are the same.

We will also be incentivizing free players to support the underpopulated side, and market rates for how much vehicles cost (in victory points) may be reduced in some cases by 50% if your side is currently underpopulated. The intent here is to encourage free players to swap sides as-needed to extend their VP and support the game. In fact, that is the primary basis of this entire initiative.

The cost value (in victory points) of each spawnable unit will be determined by supply, demand, tier implementation date, and player behaviors. We reserve the right to make changes to these values at any time and will need to do so initially as we’ll have to figure out how it will all work. As we know, all good plans typically don’t survive first contact. Meaning, the rates we initially come up with may either be too high, or too low. We will do our best to make it reasonably attainable and worth the time invested regardless.

VICTORY POINT MULTIPLIERS & MAX EARNINGS

We’ve also developed a VP Multiplier, effectively allowing us to increase your VP earning rate by a configurable number. Think of it like a “Double XP Weekend” from other games, for example.

Additionally, we will be able to make modifications to the Max VP earned per rolling 24 hours, so on some special weekends to incentivize greater play, we may give you more room to earn and play.

HOW VICTORY POINTS WILL WORK

Your Victory Points also have the opportunity to be returned if you return to base in good standing (full crew), or if a server process on our end crashes. In both conditions you will receive your VP back. You will also have a short grace period from initial spawn that if you die due to camping, you’ll get your VP back as well. This encourages you to play skillfully and return your equipment back in good standing for your side.

If you lose a crew member, or despawn as RES (rescue), MIA (missing in action), KIA (killed in action), or any other condition than RTB (return to base), you will lose your victory points.

VP value will be shown on the UI on a per-unit basis, and you will confirm “OK” or “Cancel” upon selecting your unit to spend your VP on that unit. Upon entering the world, it’s up to you and the conditions to make it work based on the above information.

Here's a complete functional walkthrough from XOOM on how this system works.

This is what a Free Player sees (all locks) if your VP balance is below VP Cost thresholds (per unit).

Here, you can see a VP balance of "150" and what units then become unlocked. Some units are 150+ points, therefore they are not yet unlocked.

In this example, all units are unlocked because the Free Player has a sufficient balance of VP to then spend on any vehicle in the list as it is shown above. Remember, RANK + VP is required to use these units.

RANK GRIND WILL STILL MATTER

Players will be required to have sufficient rank access in order to unlock weapons, by having VP alone at say: Rank 1 (Recruit), you won’t be able to spawn a Matilda or a Tiger Tank. You still have to grind and play.

We’re going to be looking at ranks very closely in the near future, which will likely include increasing the total threshold of points required to have such rank, increasing the fidelity of how our ranking system works and corresponding vehicle access, as well as exploring how we can add some more ranks for veteran players to continue beyond Lt. Colonel if they are not in High Command. Think “prestige” type ranks, etc.

By increasing rank thresholds, we mean that if it currently takes 100 points to reach Private from Recruit, we may raise that to 1,000 points — and so on, to give people more time and gratification for hard work in receiving those ranks. Specifically for Recruits, everyone knows “Green Tags” are newer to the game and need a little extra help. 0-100 really isn’t sufficient to provide them the necessary awareness for other members to support them and offer a helping hand.

MODULARITY OF THE VP SYSTEM

A key design goal was for us to be able to make modifications to this system beyond the roll-out, which means we’ll explore future ways to allow players to earn VP. These will likely be aimed at what are the most important jobs we need done for the game, such as truck driving, mobile spawn deployment, guarding capture facilities + more, all crucial to making the game work.

We’ll focus on boosting Free Player participation while protecting subscriber value — ensuring both sides, and most of all WWII Online, win.

THIS SHOULD CAUSE ALL PLAYERS TO TAKE ANOTHER LOOK

This should really get your attention, specifically players who have tried our game out before and left feeling like the game didn’t offer enough for them to be competitive beyond Tier 0 (1940). By introducing better rank progression and a grind through in-game actions to unlock equipment, it will guarantee a more reasonable offering and a fighting chance as the war progresses.

Victory Points FAQ

Q1: Why make this change now?

A: For years, new and Free Players have told us the game felt locked behind a paywall. Victory Points are our answer: they make the game more engaging for everyone, while still protecting and reinforcing the value of subscriptions. This is about keeping WWII Online alive, fair, and growing.

Q2: Is WWII Online going pay-to-win with Victory Points?

A: Absolutely not. Victory Points have strict daily earning caps to prevent anyone from grinding or buying their way to dominance. While VP can be purchased as micro-transactions, the caps and rank requirements ensure that skill, teamwork, and battlefield leadership—not money—decide the war.

Q3: Why should I stay subscribed if VP exists?

A: Subscriptions still provide the ultimate WWII Online experience:

• Premium: Full, instant access to all units without VP or rank grind barriers.

• All-Infantry: Affordable access for players who prefer infantry combat.

• Hero Builder: Exclusive recognition and access that shows you are part of the game’s backbone.

Victory Points are meant to ease Free Players into the game, but nothing replaces the instant access, status, and convenience of a subscription. You won’t have to worry about grinding specific tasks or spending your victory points on items. You get what you’ve paid for - priority access and no limitations based on your subscription level.

Q4: What can Victory Points actually unlock?

A: VP lets Free Players gradually access some premium vehicles and equipment, provided they also meet rank requirements. 

Q5: How are VP earned in-game?

A: By contributing meaningfully to the war effort—running supply, building mobile spawns, guarding capture points, repairing bridges, blowing enemy facilities, and supporting teammates. While combat helps, support and logistics earn more VP to encourage teamwork and side-balance.

Q6: What if I buy VP—can I just skip the grind?

A: Purchased VP is capped and balanced exactly like earned VP. Buying VP is about convenience, not superiority. You’ll still need rank, and you’ll still face the same battlefield risks as everyone else. VP will not be purchasable initially however, your best bet is to subscribe which also eliminates the Side Lock requirements that Free Players have.

Q7: How does this help balance the sides?

A: Victory Points will cost less when you join the underpopulated side—sometimes up to 50% cheaper. This makes VP a tool to incentivize balance, ensuring fairer fights and a healthier game for everyone.

Q8: Will VP hurt historical authenticity or supply scarcity?

A: No. VP costs are tuned based on supply, demand, and historical tiers. A Tiger or Matilda won’t suddenly become common just because VP exists. Scarcity and authenticity remain core to WWII Online.

Q9: How does rank still matter with VP?

A: Rank is still required to access advanced equipment. VP alone won’t let a Recruit spawn a Tiger Tank or other crucial weapon. We’re also improving the rank system to make progression more meaningful, with higher thresholds and possibly more ranks in the future.

Q10: Does this replace Premium, All-Infantry, or Hero Builder subscriptions?

A: No. Subscriptions remain the foundation of WWII Online. They are what keep the servers running, development funded, and the game alive after over 24 years. Victory Points are an extra path of progression aimed primarily at Free Players, but subscriptions will always offer the best value, the most access, and the most convenience.

Q11: Do Victory Points remove Free Play Side Lock?

A: No. You still must be a subscriber to avoid Side Lock, and play the side of your choice at any time.