Following the cancellation of the MBT-70 and XM-803, the US Army continued their search for the next main battle tank to replace their M60s. With the goal of producing a top-rate main battle tank under a fixed price limit, both General Motors and Chrysler competed for the optimal design to be chosen by the US Army. In November 1976, the Chrysler model was chosen for the XM-1 contract, and was accepted for service in 1981 as the M1 Abrams tank. The basis of the new main battle tank for the US Army, 2,374 units of the M1 Abrams would be produced. Accepted under constrained budgets, the now standardized M1 Abrams would go on to feature multiple improvement programs, such as the introduction of a 120 mm gun, as well as constant refurbishments to keep the tank up to date.

The M1 Abrams, or just M1 Abrams, was introduced in Update 1.77 "Advancing Storm". The start of a new common vehicle for the rest of the American tech tree, the first M1 Abrams gives players a good taste of the gameplay expected from the platform. The turbine engine gives the vehicle great speed and acceleration that players could use to get to position or perform hit-and-run on their targets. The armour, an improvement over its predecessors, can provide substantial kinetic energy protection, but excels in chemical energy protection against HEAT tank shells. The one area that the M1 Abrams is not too different is the firepower, using the same 105 mm gun and its shells from the latest M60 variants. However, the improved armour and mobility can allow players to better use the 105 mm gun by getting around to where enemies least expect the Abrams to be for the 105 mm to do the most damages against their weak points.