In Warfare 1917, the player orders soldiers to capture ground and trenches while fighting programmed enemies.

In-game units such as the riflemen, machine gunners, assaulters, officers, sharpshooters, and tanks can be used in both the British and German campaigns and custom mode.

[2] During either campaign, the player may make use of the nation-specific variants of several units, which are based on actual historical differences between each army.

The campaigns also provide a historical atmosphere by slowly expanding the player's unit roster over the course of the war based on the historical innovations of the featured armies; regardless of affiliation, the player starts the game with limited options, and unlock new units and fire support with every battle they win, tanks being among the last and available to the British before the Germans.

[2][4] Warfare 1944, a sequel to the game, was later released by ConArtist, featuring the Americans and Germans in the Second World War.