In 1941, the Wehrmacht began to take an interest in developing a "super-heavy" tank capable of defeating any tanks in existence at the time. This first resulted in contact with Krupp to design the 90-ton Panzerkampfwagen VII Löwe (Lion). However, due to personal interference by Hitler, the Panzer VII was cancelled for what would later be known as the Panzerkampfwagen VIII Maus. As a touch of dry humour, the gargantuan super-heavy tank was named after a mouse. As the Maus was designed by Porsche, it featured an electrical transmission design similarly found on his smaller designs. Due to its thick armour, the Maus weighed a staggering 188 tons, making it the single heaviest tank ever built. Because of this, the Maus was incapable of crossing any bridges or being carried by trains; thus, a provision for an underwater snorkel as well as a special rail wagon was designed for it. After just two prototypes were built, the Red Army overran the Kummersdorf plant where the Maus was located in April 1945, forcing the Germans to destroy the complete V2 hull. As a result, the sole surviving example currently on display at the Kubinka Tank Museum is a composite, with the hull of the V1 and the turret of the V2.

The Maus was first introduced in Update 1.47 "Big Guns" as a main tree vehicle, but was later moved to gift vehicle status and is available to begin researching for a limited time annually. The Maus is the epitome of a “super-heavy” tank, sporting one of the thickest raw armour values in the game, while also being awfully slow. However, being positioned between late WWII and early Cold War vehicles, the Maus is sandwiched between two extremes; it is capable of holding its own against its contemporaries but struggles against more modern vehicles with tools that can negate its thick steel armour. As such, situation awareness is a must when using the Maus, as careless positioning may reduce the Maus into a big pile of scrap metal.