In 1943, the appearance of heavier German tanks on the Eastern Front, such as the Pz.Kpfw. VI Tiger and the Pz.Kpfw. V Panther, posed a serious threat to the Red Army. The early variants of the T-34, which were armed only with 76 mm cannons, were no longer effective against these vehicles. The response came in the form of the T-34-85, an extensive modernisation of the battle-proven T-34. Its most important improvement was the new ZiS-S-53 85 mm gun, which could penetrate German armour at greater ranges. The new version also featured a redesigned turret with a commander’s cupola and space for an additional crew member, the loader.

This specific T-34-85 was up-armoured in the field using mesh screens in an attempt to mitigate the threat of German man-portable shaped-charge anti-tank weapons, which became an increasingly prevalent threat as the Soviet Army advanced towards Berlin.

The T-34-85E was introduced in Update 1.49 "Weapons of Victory" as a premium pack and remained available for sale until the 2018 Victory Day sales, when it was removed. Since then, it has been available exclusively as part of the "Tracks of Victory" bundle. Due to the enlarged turret and the dedicated loader, the T-34-85 has a faster reload compared to the T-34-85 (D-5T), which, combined with the new APCR ammunition, makes the tank extremely capable in flanking manoeuvres. Since the tank retains the optics of the previous model, however, it remains a less-than-ideal choice for sniping due to the poor magnification, as well as the cannon's ballistics at longer ranges. This tank is functionally identical to the T-34-85 ('45).