World of Tanks will remain playable in Russia and Belarus even though developer Wargaming is leaving those countries.”/> Enlarge / World of Tanks will remain playable in Russia and Belarus even though developer Wargaming is leaving those countries.
Wargaming, the developer behind the hugely popular military MMO World of Tanks and its offshoots, has decided to close its offices in Russia and Belarus amid the ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
In an announcement on LinkedIn, the company cited a “strategic review of operations worldwide” that accelerated the move. This is not surprising given that government and corporate sanctions have made it increasingly difficult for many international companies to do business in Russia and Belarus at all.
But that doesn’t mean Wargaming will benefit directly financially from the closures. “The company will not benefit from this process now or in the future,” Wargaming wrote. “On the contrary, we expect to incur significant losses as a direct result of this decision.”
Wargaming did not directly cite Russia’s invasion of Ukraine when announcing its withdrawal from the countries. However, in late February, Wargaming fired creative director Sergey Burkatovskiy after posting a pro-war message on Facebook. “Sergey Burkatovskiy has expressed his personal opinion on social media, which categorically does not reflect the company’s position,” a Wargaming spokesman told PC Gamer at the time. “He was fired and is no longer with the company.”
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Wargaming said its games will continue to be available to players in Russia and Belarus through Lesta Studio’s local management. This distinguishes Wargaming from many other gaming companies, which stopped selling new games in Russia and Belarus in the wake of the invasion (although previous game purchases and online services are often still accessible). Russia, Ukraine and Belarus dominate the World of Tanks competitive scene, and as recently as 2018 the game had 37.2 million players on Russian servers – more than it did across Europe at the time.
Wargaming was founded in Minsk, Belarus in 1998 and maintained a large studio there despite its decision to move its headquarters to Cyprus in 2011. The company said it employs over 550 people at its studios in Kyiv, Ukraine, and has earlier said it will provide “all available company resources” in ” [Kyiv employees] with an alternative apartment, early salary payments, [and] additional funds to support travel and relocation.”
Wargaming previously stopped all worldwide promotion of World of Tanks, apparently out of deference to how the military imagery would be perceived in an international conflict. The company later resumed advertising with redesigned content that removed images of advancing tanks and military vehicles. The commercial break remains in force in Ukraine“As we believe it is inappropriate and insensitive to promote our games while it is at the center of this conflict,” the company said.
In late February, Wargaming announced a $1 million donation to the Ukrainian Red Cross “to support Ukrainian hospitals and doctors, displaced citizens and other vital humanitarian organization activities as needed.”