On April 4, Wargaming, the developer of the well-known online games "World of Tanks" and "World of Warships", announced that they would close their studios in Belarus and transfer their Russian and Belarusian game businesses to other companies. Wargaming claims that this decision will cost them significantly.
Wargaming is a company founded in 1998 in Minsk, the capital of Belarus, and is currently headquartered in Nikesia, the capital of Cyprus. According to a statement on their company's website, they have been conducting a strategic assessment of the company's global business operations over the past few weeks. It was finally decided to leave Russia and Belarus and no longer own or operate any business in these two countries.
They will transfer operations in both countries to Lesta Studio, a former St. Petersburg-based subsidiary of Wargaming, which was acquired by Wargaming in 2011 and developed World of Warships in 2015, but Wargaming said the studio is now "no longer associated with the company."
Game screens for World of Tanks and World of Warships
Wargaming stressed that they will not profit from the process, but will instead cause them to suffer "significant losses.". Users in Russia and Belarus can still enjoy products and services normally. During the transition period, the operating rights will be handed over to Lesta Studio. In addition, the company's studio in Minsk will also be closed.
The decision is significant, the statement said, and as a company, "we are confident in the future of our business and committed to delivering high-quality games to our players." ”
Russia Today tv believes that while the statement did not give specific reasons for the decision, it is likely to be related to the ongoing military conflict between Russia and Ukraine, as well as the harsh sanctions imposed on all Russian and Belarusian companies. Wargaming has repeatedly expressed its support for Ukraine during the conflict, donating $1 million to the Ukrainian Red Cross and firing a creative director in February who expressed support for Russia's actions. According to a statement issued by Wargaming at the time, "The entire staff of the company is helping to help more than 550 colleagues and their families from Kiev." "The position of the dismissed director is completely contradictory to the position of the company, so he is no longer an employee of the company.
The news that Wargaming has closed its Belarusian studios and withdrawn from its Russian and Belarusian businesses has caused a heated discussion among the player base, which may also be a public relations tool for Wargaming, as Russian players account for a considerable share of the players in the company's products. Taking World of Tanks as an example, according to the third-party website "Wot-news", the number of active players on different servers of the game last week was:
European service - 721,490 people
American clothing - 130,550 people
Asian clothing - 101,450 people
Russians - 2581085 people
According to this data, the number of active players in Russia accounted for 73% of the total number of active players of the game last week.
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