We are thrilled to finally share how our journey began. Steel Aces is the result of our collective passion for history, engineering and game development, blended tank warfare.
During early discussions, we realised we wanted to honour real tank design while still making something that feels and looks great to play.

In this post, we take a look back on how those initial sparks of inspiration turned into a real plan. We hope you enjoy this look at our early stages.

The Idea

From the beginning, we said, “We want authenticity,” but we did not want Steel Aces to be a strict simulator. Instead, our goal is methodical, team-focused gameplay that still pays respect and homage to real-world armoured operations and of course the fans of it and games. Many of the team are also incredibly passionate when it comes to both tanks and engineering, this ignited sparks when we imagined all the pieces coming together.

Research and Planning

Before long, we were writing code ideas and conducting preliminary tests to validate whether our ideas would function at scale and give us a prototype idea that we could say, “Okay, this could actually work.”

We also knew how important it was to get some serious research in, bar our own. We dug through technical manuals, archives, and even had the chance to speak with a few dedicated tank enthusiasts who shared their expertise. We wanted to ground our designs in genuine data, such as turret rotation speeds and shell velocities and apply our engine physics knowledge, so players could feel something different when playing.

We also outlined our key goals, such as tactical teamwork, meaningful progression, and a nod to historical details. All these “pillars” became our guiding principles whenever we made decisions about vehicle roles, map layouts, or progression systems, even when tuning the “ look & feel” of something.

Challenges Along the Way

Balancing realism with fun and engagement can be a challenge in any project. We had to decide which specific tank models would appear in the game and how precise we wanted them to be compared to real-world examples and the ability to keep consistency between our research and results, not only that a favourable progression for gameplay while keeping it faithful.

Unity HDRP provided the visual fidelity we needed without sacrificing user-friendliness and team skill composite.
We also soon realised we needed a development pipeline that let us respond to feedback quickly. We did not want the team bogged down by endless reworks, so we designed our workflow around agile testing, iteration, and refinement throughout multiple teams.

Looking Ahead

We are proud of the groundwork we have laid so far and cannot wait to share more of our progress.

The Steel Aces Team