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Gray Zone Warfare is an extraction shooter from Madfinger Games. Released on April 30, 2024, the large-scale simulation shooter impressed me the first time I got to play it after its release.
Now fast forward to 2025; Madfinger Games is releasing the game's biggest update yet, called Winds of War, which includes a whole slate of new content, including new weapons, new PvP-focused zones, complete feature revamps, and various quality-of-life changes.
What's new in the Winds of War update?
New Weapons: The Winds of War update features new weapon additions to the current arsenal collection. Players can expect to see new suppressed SMGs, heavy support weapons, and new assault rifles. Here are the weapons included in the new update:
- SIG MCX
- MP7A1/A2
- SVD Dragunov
- Beretta M9A1
- New variants of existing weapons, like the Colt 1911 Commander and Mosin Nagant
New Gear: The update includes changes to the game's weapon optics, allowing players to customise them to their liking.
- The new optic additions include compact red dots like the Aimpoint ACRO P-2 and Aimpoint Micro H-2, along with four new scopes: the Vortex Spitfire HD Gen II 5x, the Kaps Classic 4x36 OC, the PSO-1 4x24, and the NPZ PSO 3-9x24.
- The new update introduces a new item inspired by community feedback, the Tracking Tag. These can be purchased from vendors and attached to weapons or gear to track their location on the map. Tracking Tags help you locate your body after death or follow the movement of your equipment if it’s looted. Tags are time-limited, and once the timer runs out, the item will no longer be visible on the map.
New Anti-cheat Measures: The new update will introduce a new non-DRM Denuvo to the game, which didn't affect the game's performance at all.
PvP Zones: The new update includes the addition of new PvP zones, increasing opportunities for players to take fights with other players on the map. These areas are the new hot zones of the map, and you can expect to see loads of players all around these zones.
Authentic Weather System: This new update adds eleven distinct weather presets, which range from clear skies and light overcast to dense mist and violent lightning storms. In its first iteration, weather will apply globally across the entire island. But in future updates, it might be sunny on the north side of the map and storming on the south side of the map.
Combat Outposts: There are new combat outposts on the map. You can take control of these combat outposts for resources and defend them from other players. There are 36 new combat outposts, split between minor and major types. Minor combat outposts are lightly defended and quicker to secure, while major ones offer tougher resistance. The combat outposts are usually far away from the neutral zones.
First Impressions of the Gray Zone Warfare: Winds of War Update
Madfinger Games has managed to add impressive amounts of content to the game with the new update, which left me quite impressed. I loved the new improved weather cycle and how it affects the gameplay experience. For instance, fog is a new addition in the improved weather cycle. During my play session, I deployed to the combat zone at night, and to my surprise, I was caught in the fog, which was actively blurring my view distance.
The new weapons in the update are also very good. Madfinger Games has finally added the most-awaited LMG class to the game. Usually, in large-scale combat games, LMGs are great for providing cover fire while rotating to a safe zone. I also liked the new suppressed SMGs, which were great for close-range stealth gameplay.
The PvP and PvPvE gameplay experience has also improved by a long yard. Currently, the game features new PvP combat zones which were the hotspots for nonstop action. There were constant gunfights near these zones. While I avoided PvP zones during my play sessions, I think it's a great addition for players who chase the thrill of fighting other players in the wild.
Additionally, I observed that the game is now more PvP focused and not a classic extraction shooter, as it doesn't tell you to go back and turn in contracts. The NPC or AI behaviour in the game is still inconsistent, though. I encountered a group of AI rebels near Fort Narith and while passing by, I was careful enough to not make any noise, avoiding them entirely. But to my surprise, the enemy NPCs were on my back in no time, even though they never saw me sneking by them earlier.
Last but not least, the game seems a lot more polished when compared to its initial release build. However, I did face some visual glitches here and there. For instance, I found a tree floating in the forest; it was moving away on its own. Aside from that, I have encountered a memory leak which caused my framerate to plummet and lead to heavy stuttering. However, restarting the game ended up solving the memory leak in no time.
But generally, Gray Zone Warfare seems to be in a much better state now. It still has its fair share of issues, which the devs will hopefully be quick to address in the future update of the game.
If Madfinger continue to provide high-quality updates for Gray Zone on a regular basis, I think we're going to have a very solid mil sim shooter game in a couple of years.
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