Legendary Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon is a playable captain in World of Tanks

Gianluigi Buffon, for those unaware, is an Italian professional football/soccer player. He's a handsome, hugely successful goalkeeper and has played more than 500 games for Juventus over 17 years. Last month, he lost the plot and was sent off during a Champions League quarter final. This week, he's announced a partnership with World of Tanks that lets players recruit him as a tank commander. 

I'm not joking.

The collaboration marks the addition of 11 new Italian tanks in WoT, that boast a "never-before-seen auto-reloader mechanic". The units are lightly armored and compact, so says publisher Wargaming, which let players circle enemy squads and drag them out of position, before moving in for the kill.  

"At the dizzying heights of Tier VIII and higher, the big boys come out to play with their futuristic post-WWII designs," says Wargaming. "Here, players will get their hands on the unique autoreloader mechanic that lets them choose from two different playstyles: go full Rambo and fill foes full of lead before heading for cover; or take things slow and pop off shots while saving those crucial rounds for later."

So what does the World Cup, UEFA Cup, umpteen Serie A title-winning, FIFA 100 stalwart Gianluigi Buffon think of all of this? 

"There’re always new challenges ready to knock you down, but your teammates are here to back you up. And having a few tanks at your command makes life a little easier," says the Old Lady stopper. "If you think you’re up for it, then join me in World of Tanks!"

In-game, Buffon lends his likeness and voiceover to World of Tanks as an 'Italian Crew' tank commander on the frontline. Result. 

Deputy Editor, PC Gaming Show
Latest in Action
A long bendy arm stealing money from people in a subway car
'You're a very long arm. You steal things. It's a comedy game,' explains developer of comedy game where you steal things with a very long arm
The First Berserker: Khazan review - Blade Phantom
How to claim The First Berserker: Khazan pre-order bonus and deluxe edition DLC
gta 6 trailer
Publishers 'don't want to be anywhere near' Grand Theft Auto 6 when it launches: 'It's proving to be very stressful'
An image of a Helldiver from Helldivers 2 shooting at a red dragon from Dungeons & Dragons.
'Ok, so dragon builds are a thing now': galaxy-brained Helldivers 2 player incinerates a bile titan with a hover pack and a flamethrower
Assassin's Creed Shadows promo image
Ubisoft scores a legendary ratio against Elon Musk on his own platform—which hopefully marks a final end to all the Assassin's Creed Shadows' culture war nonsense
Assassin's Creed Shadows immersive mode - Naoe holding a tanto in her hand as two guards fall to the ground behind her.
Assassin's Creed Shadows' first hotfix addresses stability issues and a photo mode crash
Latest in News
An Enshrouded player in a recreation of Erebor from The Lord of the Rings
Kings under the Mountain! 33 Enshrouded players spent 10,000 hours to recreate this iconic location from The Lord of the Rings
A mech awakens.
Mecha Break developer is considering unlocking all mechs following open beta feedback
Lara Croft Unified Art
Tomb Raider developer Crystal Dynamics lays off 17 employees 'to better align our current business needs and the studio's future success'
A long bendy arm stealing money from people in a subway car
'You're a very long arm. You steal things. It's a comedy game,' explains developer of comedy game where you steal things with a very long arm
The heroes are attacked by monsters
Pillars of Eternity is getting turn-based combat to mark its 10th anniversary, and that means PC Gamer editors will soon be arguing about combat mechanics again
Image of Ronaldo from Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves trailer
It doesn't really make sense that soccer star Ronaldo is now a Fatal Fury character, but if you follow the money you can see how it happened