The vehicular combat MMO World of Tanks: Xbox 360 Edition will be available on the Xbox Marketplace from the 12th of February. It will enjoy a global release according to the official statement on Xbox Wire, so everyone will get it at the same time, including us down here in South Africa.

World of Tanks (WoT) will be bringing its signature 15 vs. 15 tank combat gameplay to the 360, and it will be free to play for Xbox Live Gold members, with Silver members getting a seven-day trial. It will have Xbox-specific enhancements like achievements, voice chat and integration with players’ Friends lists, and a customised interface designed specifically for “the large screen experience”.

Players get to drive real-world tanks from the Soviet Union, Germany, Britain, France, China, Japan, and the United States from World War I through to the 1960s, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. Gameplay is quick and easy to pick up, with traditional shooter controls at the game’s core.

WoT uses a “freemium” model, in which gamers have the option to pay for cosmetic items to enhance their experience. The developers apparently moved away from the “pay-to-win” micro transactions present in earlier builds of the game, which will ensure a level playing field where skill is the main differentiator between players.

World of Tanks has been available for Windows since 2010 and appeared as an official eSports game in 2012 at the World Cyber Games. It was initially expected to hit the Xbox 360 in “Summer 2013”, but didn’t quite make it due to significant development delays. It was announced last year that there won’t be any cross-platform play between the PC and Xbox versions of the game, though, so if you’ve been playing on PC your progress won’t carry over.

Have you been playing the game on PC, and will you be picking it up for the 360? Let us know in the comments.