IL-2 Sturmovik is a combat flight simulator developed in Russia by 1C:Maddox Games and released for Windows in November 2001. 1C published it in Russia and the CIS as Ил-2 Штурмовик, while Ubi Soft handled Europe and North America, releasing it there on 20 November and 30 November 2001. At launch the game had 31 flyable aircraft and 40 non-flyable opponent aircraft. Multiplayer sessions were organised through free services such as Hyperlobby, Xfire and The All-Seeing Eye.
The series grew through Forgotten Battles (2003), Pacific Fighters (2004) and the complete IL-2 Sturmovik: 1946 (2006), which bundles the original with all add-ons and alternate-history 1946 campaigns. Steam began selling the 1946 edition in 2008.
Metacritic gives the original 91/100, and GameSpot and GameSpy named it the best simulation of 2001. According to English Wikipedia, overall sales passed 2 million copies by 2014.1
Names and releases
| Region | Title on the box | Platform | Date | Publisher | Src |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NA | IL-2 SturmovikDate from the English Wikipedia infobox; StopGame also gives 20 November 2001. | Windows | Nov 20, 2001 | Ubi Soft | 1 |
| EU | IL-2 Sturmovik | Windows | Nov 30, 2001 | Ubi Soft | 1 |
| RU | Ил-2 ШтурмовикEnglish Wikipedia's article body gives 18 November 2001 for the Windows release; exact Russian date not separately confirmed. | Windows | November 2001 | 1C | 1 |
| WW | IL-2 Sturmovik: 1946Complete edition including the original game and all add-ons; date as listed on GOG. | Windows | Dec 15, 2006 | 1C | 2 |
| WW | IL-2 Sturmovik: 1946Steam release of the complete edition. | Windows | Jun 13, 2008 | Fulqrum Publishing | 3 |
Also known as: Ил-2 Штурмовик RU1IL-2 Sturmovik: 1946 WW3
Box art by region
EU IL-2 Sturmovik
Box art © its publishers, shown to identify each release. Scans: Wikipedia.
Version differences
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ContentIL-2 Sturmovik: 1946
The 1946 edition, which is the version sold today, includes the original game together with Forgotten Battles, the Ace Expansion Pack and Pacific Fighters, and adds alternate-history 1946 campaigns; it has 229 flyable aircraft compared with 31 in the 2001 original.3
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Graphics4.12.2 and later
Native widescreen support in fullscreen modes arrived with the 4.12.2 update; older versions display 4:3.4
Translations
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English Official
Ubi Soft2001Windows · Russian originalReleased · complete
Ubi Soft published the English version in North America and Europe in November 2001.1
Where to play legally today
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GOG Purchase
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Steam Purchase
How to run it today
Buy IL-2 Sturmovik: 1946 on Steam or GOG: it contains the original IL-2 Sturmovik campaigns plus all add-ons and runs on Windows (GOG lists XP/Vista minimum requirements and warns that Windows 10 updates may affect compatibility). PCGamingWiki notes that retail discs use a disc check and SecuROM, so digital copies are simpler. The latest community version is 4.15m, from Team Daidalos. If settings are not saved, run the game as administrator, because Vista and later redirect writes to protected folders; anti-aliasing and better anisotropic filtering can be forced in the graphics driver control panel.
- PCGamingWiki: IL-2 Sturmovik: 1946 pcgamingwiki.com
Best version
The original 2001 game is now sold only as part of IL-2 Sturmovik: 1946, which bundles it with all later add-ons and community updates, including widescreen support since version 4.12.2.3
Reception
It scored 91/100 on Metacritic and 90.65% on GameRankings, won best simulation of 2001 from GameSpot, GameSpy, Computer Gaming World and others, and overall sales passed 2 million copies by 2014.1
In lists
Sources
Checked: 2026-10-13Text reviewed: 2026-10-13
Spotted a mistake? Write to atlas@old-games.net.