Image via Wargaming
The Russian government reportedly intends to seize assets of Lesta Studio, a former Wargaming subsidiary, due to the developer‛s support of Ukraine via World of Tanks.
Russian state-owned news agency RIA.ru reports that the country prosecutor general‛s office is looking to seize shares of both Lesta and Wargaming owners, Malik Khatazhaev and Viktor Kisly, respectively. (Thanks, VGC.)
"Statement of claim by the Deputy Prosecutor General of Russia to prohibit the activities of the association consisting of V.V. Kisly and M.A. Khatazhaev and to transfer shares in the authorized capital of the defendants to the state," read the documents provided to RIA.
In the report, the prosecutor general‛s office states that Khatazhaev and Kisly are part of "an association that carries out extremist activities." To support the claim, the plaintiff attached publications with the following headlines: "Wargaming launched a charity project with Ukrainian content in games to raise money for ambulances," "How Wargaming survived 25 years—and dealt with the war in Ukraine," and "The most military game World of Tanks against Russia‛s special operation."
In a statement provided to VGC, Wargaming reiterated that it previously moved assets and businesses out of Russia and Belarus. "Wargaming made a strategic exit from the Russian and Belarusian markets three years ago," reads a statement sent to VGC, referring to the developer spinning off operations in the region to Lesta Studio and then cutting ties with it. "The company disposed of its business in Russia and Belarus to the local management at zero cost and on a debt-free, cash-free basis, with no consideration to take it back. Wargaming doesn’t have any assets or business interests in Russia and Belarus."
Wargaming cut ties with Russia in 2022
Wargaming shut down business in Russia and Belarus in April 2022, after Russia invaded Ukraine with support from Belarus. Two months later, the developer announced new studios based in Serbia and Poland to reinforce its global operations. In February 2022, the company fired World of Tanks creative director Sergey Burkatovskiy after expressing public support for Russian‛s invasion of Ukraine.
During that year the company has also donated $1 million to the Ukrainian Red Cross, and committed to helping employees with alternate housing, early salary payments, and additional funds to aid travel and relocation, a company representative said at the time. In a 2022 report based on a survey from Russian video game trade outlet App2Top, 42.3 percent of the Russian game industry had either left the country or were planning to leave in the following months.
