World of Warships is a tactical, slow-paced shooter with two basic types of armament: ship guns and torpedoes. The gameplay is team-based, and allows players to work as a team. Within a team divisions can be established to allow a group of up to three players to join and fight battles together. The player's team can fight against other players (PvP) or against the AI (PvE) in three battle modes: Standard, Domination, and Epicenter. Each mode is scored on a points system.

On August 16, 2011, the company website of Wargaming, developer and publisher of World of Tanks and World of Warplanes, announced World of Battleships, a free-to-play naval action MMO, intended to complete the World of war trilogy developed by the company.[18] On August 2, 2012, the game was renamed World of Warships.[19] After a petition opened by South Korean players was signed 40,000 times, Wargaming removed the Rising Sun Flag from Imperial Japanese warships in July 2013.[20][21] After that, more than 12,000 signatures were gathered requesting reimplementation of the Rising Sun Flag,[22] but the decision was not overturned.[23][24] On November 14, 2013, the game entered closed alpha testing.[25]

Closed beta testing for World of Warships started on March 12, 2015, shortly after closed alpha ended, with the non-disclosure agreement covering the alpha being lifted at the same time.[26] On April 9, 2015, pre-order packages consisting of premium warships and access to the closed beta test became available for purchase by players.[27] Open beta testing for World of Warships started on July 2, 2015, as the final step prior to the game's formal launch.[28] As of the open beta test, approximately 85% of the core game development have been completed and there were future plans to introduce weather effects and night battle after the game's official release.[29]

On September 3, 2015, Wargaming announced that the game had exited open beta. The game was officially launched on September 17, 2015,[30] and later released through Steam and Microsoft Store on November 15, 2017.[31]

An iOS and Android version titled World of Warships Blitz was released by Wargaming Mobile on January 18, 2018.[32], A console version of the computer game, World of Warships: Legends, was announced on June 20, 2018,[33] and was released in Early Access and Game Preview for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on April 16, 2019.[34] World of Warships: Legends fully released on August 12, 2019. [35]

According to Malik Khatazhaev, the general manager of Lesta Studio, in May 2019, World of Warships MAU exceeded 1,000,000 worldwide actively playing audiences[36].

World of Warships has a score of 81/100 on Metacritic.[37] IGN awarded it a score of 8.3 out of 10, stating that the combat feels good and that the game's teamwork is satisfying.[42] GameSpot awarded it a score of 8.0 out of 10, saying "The thrills that await, along with the promise of unlocking advanced ships down the road, make World of Warships an enticing expedition into the sometimes turbulent waters of free-to-play games."[41] The Escapist awarded it four out of five, saying "With its tense naval battles and huge array of historical vessels, World of Warships is the free-to-play MMO that can make a wargamer out of anyone."[46]