Originally laid down as the sixth ship of the Revenge-class battleships, construction of the HMS Renown was suspended at the outbreak of World War I due to concerns that the ship would not be ready for action in a timely manner. However, after Admiral Jackie Fisher was promoted to the First Sea Lord, he ordered Renown to be completed as a battlecruiser as he believed that while British battleship numbers were already adequate, the German Kaiserliche Marine was dangerously closing the gap in battlecruiser numbers. The ship was to have a similar displacement as the Revenge-class, yet being significantly faster. To this end, the ship was lengthened to 242 meters (compared to Revenge's 189.2 meters), powered by thrice the power of the Revenge, and has its armour and armaments significantly reduced to save weight. As a result, the Renown became the lead ship of an entirely new class of battlecruiser, and she would be pressed into construction priority to fulfil the Royal Navy's needs.

While the Renown did not see any combat in World War I, she underwent several refits before and during World War II, ranging from major increases in anti-air capabilities to trivial ones like replacing the seaplane hangar with a cinema and laundry. Because of this, combined with the fact that she was frequently used to transport British PM Winston Churchill to various conferences due to her relatively luxurious accommodation, she has gained the nickname "Refit" by her crews. Other than this, the ship saw action on both the European and Pacific theatres and participated in landings in Africa and South East Asia before being phased out of service after the war.

Introduced during Update "La Royale" as a reward for the 2023 Summer Extreme event, the HMS Renown is in her 1944 configuration, with a substantial increase in dedicated anti-air defence. Compared to HMS Hood, Renown has one less main battery turret and worse armour protection but is offset by large quantities of fast-firing secondary turrets, greater anti-air capability, and better acceleration compared to her larger counterpart. Due to the 1944 refit, Renown currently stands as the most modern British capital ship currently in game.