Crossout is an online vehicle combat game set in a Mad Max, post-apocalyptic world. Players design modular vehicles combine weapons, armour and engines. As you progress in the game you earn currency to upgrade components and access more powerful parts. You can also craft new items for your vehicle from collected scrap and earned blueprints.

This vehicle design, a little like Lego Technic, requires both consideration of offensive and defensive elements as well as the impact on weight and speed. Different combinations of these items let players custom tune vehicles to their own liking and play-style. Centre of gravity, mass and location of parts is crucial. A vehicle too top-heavy may roll over if turned too quickly or during movement on uneven terrain. Heavy machinery has more difficulty turning. Equipment (such as a rotating radar dish) placed too close to the ground may be hit during its movement causing loss of control or degraded movement ability.

These vehicles are then used in the main combat element of the game where a physics model determines performance and outcomes of battles. These are real-time and involve two teams of players and AI-participants. To win, a team must eliminate the enemy team, capture base or perform other tasks depending on the game mode.