Tank arena
Diep.io
Shoot shapes, spend the points, pick a branch of the upgrade tree and see how long you last against everyone who did the same.
- Made by
- Matheus Valadares
- Released
- 2016
- Shelf
- The ride · 10–20 minutes
- One session
- Eight to twenty minutes per tank
- Account
- No account
- Connection
- Live multiplayer: a dead spot ends the round
- Controls
- Mouse and keys; twin sticks appear on touch
- Pays its way with
- Adverts, optional cosmetics and a monthly tier
- Last retested
- 22 September 2026
Opens the developer's own site in a new tab. The link is editorial: nobody paid for it, and we get nothing if you click it.
- To start
- £0, nothing to install
- Most it will sell you
- VIP $5 a month; Shinies from $1.99
- Paid random items
- None
Every price, with its source: what each cabinet really costs.
The first five minutes
You are a circle with a barrel. Bump into a square, shoot it, gain a level, choose a stat. Two minutes in you take your first branch of the upgrade tree; five minutes in someone with a better one removes you, and you immediately want another go.
The upgrade tree is the game
Points go into eight stats and, at set levels, into a branching set of tank classes. The choices are real: a sniper build and a swarm build play so differently that they are effectively separate games sharing one arena.
Because everything is earned inside the run, nobody arrives with an advantage. A level-45 tank is somebody who has survived, not somebody who has paid.
How it fits a journey
A life lasts as long as you do, which is usually eight to twenty minutes. That is a good ride-length game with one catch: dying loses the tank you built, and so does closing the tab. Plan to arrive at your stop already dead.
Touch controls put a stick under each thumb and they work better than they have any right to. It is one of the few live arena games here we would play standing on a bus.
Adverts, cosmetics and what is not there
The free game carries advertising on the menu, sells cosmetic skins at fixed prices and offers a monthly tier that removes the adverts. We checked the shop: everything is a priced item picked off a list. There is no random box anywhere in it.
There is also no built-in player chat, which for a game full of strangers is a feature rather than an omission.
What works
- Straight into a match: no account, no lobby, no chat to moderate
- Thirty-odd tank classes make genuinely different games out of one arena
- Touch controls are properly designed twin sticks
- Purchases are priced items, never random boxes
What grates
- Closing the tab loses the tank you spent fifteen minutes building
- Adverts on the menu unless you pay the monthly tier
- Needs a steady connection — the servers are strict about it
The verdict
Ten years old and still one of the best ways to spend a bus ride. The upgrade tree carries it, the touch controls are a pleasant surprise, and the only real sting is how much you lose by having to leave.
Questions we get asked
Is Diep.io free?
Yes. Adverts pay for the free version; cosmetics and a monthly advert-free tier are optional and directly priced.
Are there loot boxes in Diep.io?
No. We went through the shop: skins are individual items with prices on them, not randomised boxes.
Can I play Diep.io on my phone?
Yes, in a mobile browser — it puts a virtual stick under each thumb. There are also standalone apps.