Wargaming, the studio behind popular online military games such as ‘World of Tanks,’ ‘World of Warships’ and ‘World of Warplanes,’ has announced it will be completely shutting down operations in Russia and in its ‘native’ Belarus, where it was founded and is the biggest gaming company in the country.
It announced the decision in a statement posted to its website as well as LinkedIn, saying it had already started the process of closing its studio in Minsk and has transferred the business of operating its games in Russia and Belarus to Lesta Studio – a Russian developer that Wargaming acquired in 2011 but is now “no longer affiliated” with the company.
“The company will not profit from this process either today or going forward. Much to the contrary we expect to suffer substantial losses as a direct result of this decision,” Wargaming admitted in the statement.
Nevertheless, the studio maintained that it will be completing the transition “with all due speed” while sticking to local laws and ensuring the safety and support of its employees. It added that the live products and services will remain available for Russians and Belarusians throughout this period, as they will be operated by the new games operator.