IMHO.

War Thunder vs Heliborne Collection

War Thunder and Heliborne Collection both land in Action, Massively Multiplayer on Steam, which is why they keep getting compared. The comparison below is built from each game's Steam metadata — release year, genres, categories, Steam Deck status, price, and review score — refreshed daily by imho.run's scraper. Headline differences: Both share Action, Massively Multiplayer on Steam. War Thunder (2013) is 4 years older than Heliborne Collection (2017). Both sit near 74% positive on Steam (War Thunder: 308,911 reviews, Heliborne Collection: 1,893). No login or purchase needed — scroll for the full table, the verdict FAQ, and links to ranked similar games for both titles.

Which should you pick?

Choose War Thunder

Choose War Thunder if you want a Simulation and Free To Play game with VR Supported, Adjustable Text Size, and Color Alternatives. On Steam, it's free to play, so the barrier to trying it is zero. 308,911 Steam reviews back the pick.

Choose Heliborne Collection

Choose Heliborne Collection if you want an Indie experience. On Steam, it's the newer release (2017) and ships with the modern feature baseline. 1,893 Steam reviews back the pick.

Both War Thunder and Heliborne Collection sit in Action and Massively Multiplayer on Steam and both list Multi-player, MMO, and Online PvP, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Steam reviews are nearly tied (74.1% vs 74.6% positive), so genre fit is the cleanest tiebreaker — scroll the table for the feature-by-feature view.

Side-by-side comparison

War Thunder vs Heliborne Collection — Steam metadata comparison
War Thunder — Steam game coverWar ThunderHeliborne Collection — Steam game coverHeliborne Collection
Released20132017
GenresAction, Simulation, Massively Multiplayer, Free To PlayAction, Indie, Massively Multiplayer
PlatformsWindows, macOS, LinuxWindows, macOS, Linux
Steam DeckDeck VerifiedDeck Playable
PriceFree to play29.99 USD
Steam reviews74.1% positive (308,911 reviews)74.6% positive (1,893 reviews)
MultiplayerMulti-player, Cross-Platform Multiplayer, Online Co-opMulti-player, Cross-Platform Multiplayer, Online Co-op
DevelopersGaijin EntertainmentKlabater

Side by side

War Thunder vs Heliborne Collection — FAQ

Which is better, War Thunder or Heliborne Collection?
On Steam reviews the two are nearly tied: War Thunder sits at 74.1% positive (308,911 reviews), Heliborne Collection at 74.6% (1,893). The choice usually comes down to genre fit and the platform features each one supports — see the comparison table above.
Should I play War Thunder or Heliborne Collection first?
If you want chronology, War Thunder (2013) came out before Heliborne Collection (2017). If neither is a sequel to the other, order doesn't really matter — start with whichever fits your current mood, since both share enough on Steam to make either a reasonable opener.
Are War Thunder and Heliborne Collection similar?
They overlap on Action, Massively Multiplayer on Steam, so the catalogue groups them together — but "similar" depends on the specific mechanics. Use the genre + category rows above to decide whether the overlap matches what drew you to the one you've already played.
Do both War Thunder and Heliborne Collection have co-op?
Yes — both list a co-op category on Steam. Specifics differ: War Thunder ships Online Co-op, Co-op; Heliborne Collection ships Online Co-op, Co-op.
Is War Thunder free?
Yes — War Thunder is a free-to-play Steam title. Heliborne Collection is paid (29.99 USD).
War Thunder vs Heliborne Collection — Verdict (2026) · imho.run