Enlisted in 2026: a practical guide to the squad-based WWII shooter

By Liam Adams, editor · Published 24 September 2026 · Last reviewed 24 September 2026

Enlisted is a free-to-play Second World War shooter in which you lead a small squad of AI-controlled soldiers rather than a single character. This guide explains how it actually works, what is free and what costs money, and who is likely to enjoy it — including its weaknesses.

What is Enlisted?

Enlisted is an online multiplayer shooter developed by Darkflow Software and published by Gaijin Entertainment, the company also known for War Thunder. It runs on Gaijin's Dagor Engine. The official site describes it as “an MMO squad based shooter for PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5”.

The game has been playable in some form since 2021. According to Wikipedia, a closed beta opened on PlayStation 5 in March 2021 and an open beta on PC in April 2021, and PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions followed in October 2021. The game was later listed on Steam, where it has been available as a free-to-play title since July 2024. It is distributed through Gaijin's own launcher as well as the console stores and Steam.

The squad mechanic: what makes Enlisted different

In most shooters you control one soldier. In Enlisted you control one soldier directly while the rest of your squad is controlled by the game's AI. In Gaijin's words: “You control one soldier directly while other soldiers will be controlled by AI which obeys your orders.” Wikipedia describes squads of three to nine soldiers, depending on the squad type.

This has several practical consequences:

• You can switch bodies. The official site notes that you can switch between soldiers and stay in the fight after part of your squad has been defeated. When your current soldier falls, you can take over a surviving squad-mate instead of waiting on a respawn screen.
• You give simple orders. AI squad-mates follow basic commands. They are helpful for suppressing fire and filling space, but they are not a substitute for human team-mates, and their behaviour is a common topic of criticism.
• Your line-up matters. Before a match you choose which squads to bring — for example an infantry squad, an engineer-heavy squad or a vehicle crew — and the soldiers inside them can be trained and equipped over time.

Battles and scale

Because every player brings AI soldiers, battles contain far more soldiers than human players. Gaijin states that “there are hundreds of soldiers, armoured vehicles and aircraft in every battle”. Gaijin does not give a fixed player count on the pages we checked, and the number of human players per match is not something we could verify from an official source, so we do not quote one.

Correction note: an earlier version of this page claimed Enlisted runs “64-player battles” and that this is “the largest player count in any free-to-play WWII shooter”. We could not find support for either claim and have removed them.

Matches are built around objectives — capturing and holding points, or attacking and defending a series of sectors — rather than simple kill counts. Tanks and aircraft appear alongside infantry, so effective play usually means working out where vehicles are and how your squad can support or counter them. The available modes and maps change between updates; the in-game menus and the official news pages are the best reference for what is live at any time.

Theatres and nations

Enlisted's battles are set in several theatres of the Second World War. Wikipedia lists content covering the Eastern and Western Fronts, North Africa and the Pacific, including battles associated with Moscow, Normandy, Tunisia and Berlin.

Originally, each of these was a separate “campaign” with its own progression. According to Wikipedia, a December 2023 update merged the campaigns into a single progression organised by nation, and a major “Far Eastern Front” update followed in December 2025. If you read older guides or videos, bear in mind that they may describe the campaign system that no longer exists.

Soldier roles and specialisations

Soldiers belong to classes with different weapons and tools. The exact list and names have changed over the years, but typical examples include:

• Riflemen — general-purpose infantry, the backbone of most squads.
• Assaulters — close-range specialists with automatic weapons.
• Machine gunners — suppress and hold ground.
• Snipers — long-range fire, useful but easy to over-rely on.
• Engineers — build defensive structures and forward spawn points (“rally points”), which are often more valuable than kills.
• Radio operators — call in artillery support.
• Tankers and pilots — crew vehicles and aircraft.

Correction note: an earlier version said engineers “repair and operate vehicles”. In Enlisted, vehicles are crewed by tanker and pilot squads; engineers are mainly builders.

Progression and money: what is free and what is not

Enlisted is free to download and free to play. You can create an account, join matches and unlock weapons, vehicles and soldiers by playing. The game also sells optional content. On the official site, Gaijin offers Gold (a premium currency) and premium squads, and Wikipedia reports that the game runs battle passes, usually nine to ten per year.

Whether this amounts to “pay-to-win” is disputed. Wikipedia cites a review by XboxEra that described the system as pay-to-win; other players argue that the advantage of paid content is small or mostly about saving time. We have not tested the game's balance ourselves, so we do not make a claim either way. What is clear is that progress without spending takes time, and that paying can speed it up.

Correction note: an earlier version stated there were “no battle passes”, that monetisation was “cosmetic” only, and that you could “unlock every weapon” without spending. Those statements were inaccurate or unverified and have been removed.

How historically accurate is it?

Gaijin states that “the weaponry, soldier's uniform, appearance and capabilities of the vehicles in the game are in line with historical facts”. Weapons, vehicles and settings are clearly based on real WWII equipment and battles. Keep in mind, though, that Enlisted is a competitive game: time-to-kill, respawns, squad sizes and the equipment available to each side are shaped by game balance, not just history. An earlier version of this page said the developers “consulted military historians” and “visited battlefields”; we could not verify that and have removed it.

Getting started safely

1. Download from an official source. Use the official site (enlisted.net), your console's store, or Steam. Avoid third-party download sites.
2. Check the system requirements and age rating on the official site or your platform's store page before downloading. We do not reproduce them here because they change.
3. Protect your account. Use a unique password and turn on any two-step verification that your account settings offer. Ignore offers of “free Gold” or account “generators” — they are a common way to steal accounts.
4. Start with the tutorial and infantry squads. Learn the objective-based modes and how to place and use rally points before moving on to vehicles.
5. Set a budget before you buy anything, especially if a younger player in your household uses the account. Consoles and PC stores offer spending controls.

Who is Enlisted for?

Enlisted is likely to suit you if you like large, chaotic battles, enjoy the Second World War setting, and find the idea of managing a squad appealing. It can also work well for friends who play together, because squads and team-mates who communicate have a clear advantage.

It may not suit you if you want a tight, purely human-versus-human shooter, if AI team-mates frustrate you, or if you dislike long progression systems and battle passes. Because it is free, the simplest way to find out is to try a few matches before spending anything.

Pros and cons at a glance

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Sources

All sources were accessed on 24 September 2026. Where this article and information published by Gaijin Entertainment differ, Gaijin's official information prevails — games change quickly and we may be behind.

1. Gaijin Entertainment, “Enlisted” game page — https://gaijinent.com/game/enlisted
2. Enlisted official website, “About” — https://enlisted.net/en/about/
3. Wikipedia, “Enlisted (video game)” — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enlisted_(video_game)
4. Steam store page for Enlisted — https://store.steampowered.com/app/2051620/

The illustrations and diagrams on this page are original drawings made by vanderis.online. They are not screenshots and do not use any artwork from the game.

Corrections and updates

On 24 September 2026 this article was rewritten and fact-checked. The earlier version contained claims we could not verify or that were wrong: “64-player battles”, “the largest player count in any free-to-play WWII shooter”, “no battle passes”, “monetisation is cosmetic”, “PC platform” with console support only “planned” (consoles have been supported since 2021), engineers operating vehicles, and developers consulting historians. It also presented the article as a “reader story”, which it is not. Spotted another error? Write to info@vanderis.online — see our corrections procedure.

Enlisted is a trademark of its respective owner. vanderis.online is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Gaijin Entertainment or Darkflow Software.