Wargaming Group Limited orWargaming.Net andWargaming.LTD is a Belarusianvideo game company. The headquarters are currently inNicosia,Cyprus. As of 2022, the company operates more than 15 offices and development studios worldwide.[3]
Wargaming was founded byVictor Kislyi in Minsk on 2 August 1998,[4] intending the company to be adeveloper ofstrategy video games.[5] The company's first project wasDBA Online—the digital version of a miniature tabletop rule setDe Bellis Antiquitatis—launched in 2000. Wargaming started working on its first full-scale commercial project—the sci-fi turn-based strategy gameMassive Assault, in March 2002.[6] Over the course of five years, the company released five projects within theMassive Assault franchise.[7]
On 12 August 2010, the company released its first online title,World of Tanks in Russia. On 12 April 2011,World of Tanks was released in North America and Europe.[11]
In 2011, Wargaming relocated its headquarters from Minsk to Nicosia, Cyprus.[12] Since 17 August 2015, the headquarters has been located in the Wargaming HQ tower, one of the tallest buildings in Cyprus located near thePresidential Palace in Nicosia.[13]
European operations headquarters, known as Wargaming Europe, were established in Paris, France, in July 2011.[14] On 3 August 2011, the company created a direct presence in North America by opening an office in San Francisco.
In October 2011, Wargaming announced the online collectible cardMMO gameWorld of Tanks: Generals. Throughout 2011, Wargaming joined strategic partnerships with Persha Studia,Lesta Studio and DAVA Consulting,[17] with each operating separate projects under Wargaming.
On 21 February 2012, the Android version ofWorld of Tanks Assistant, the mobile application forWorld of Tanks, went live in Europe and North America.[18]
In May 2012, Wargaming entered the Korean games market by opening a subsidiary office in Seoul.[19] Wargaming embarked on a rebranding initiative and announced the Wargaming.net service,[20] which would unite its games and services into a single battle universe in June 2012.[21]
On 7 August 2012, Wargaming acquired the Australian companyBigWorld Technology[22][23] which brought development of themiddleware for its MMO projects in-house.
In an annual report for theCyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) in 2012, Wargaming's revenue was declared to be 217.9 million Euro, with a net profit of 6.1 million Euro.[24] Wargaming's shares were delisted from the CSE in 2015, and it remains a privately held company to this date.
On 26 March 2013, Wargaming announcedWorld of Tanks Blitz,[29] a mobileMMO game centered around tank combat available for smartphones and tablets. The game was released oniOS[30] in June 2014. As of 2016,World of Tanks Blitz is available on iOS,Android,[31]Windows 10,[32] andMac OS X.[33] Wargaming branched into the Japanese games market by opening an office in Tokyo on 29 May 2013.[34]
In July 2015, Wargaming launched WG Labs as a division that would act as a third-party publisher for outside developers.[36] The creation of the division was primarily driven by Wargaming's partnership with the independent studio NGD Studios and their game,Master of Orion.[37] In October, the company also rebranded DropForge, aBellevue, Washington-based mobile game studio founded in 2013 by David Bluhm, as WG Cells.[38] WG Cells was shut down in August 2016.[39]
Wargaming's WG Labs division released a reimagining ofMaster of Orion in August 2016. The game was developed by the ArgentineNGD Studios.
In November 2016, Wargaming,SEGA andCreative Assembly announced a new strategic partnership that will see Total War: ARENA published worldwide.[40] As of 2016, Wargaming owns a significant share of theHellenic Bank (Daniel S. Loeb's Third Point Group is the other major shareholder of the Cyprus-based Bank) and has shown an interest in purchasing land property assets in Cyprus for its use and investment purposes.
In 2017, Wargaming started a mobile games division called Wargaming Mobile.[41] The unit was eventually closed in 2019.[42]
In February 2018, Wargaming America closed itsEmeryville offices, cutting 100 jobs.[43]
In May 2018, Wargaming's CEO showed up personally to close theirSeattle studio and lay off over 150 developers.[44]
In 2019, Wargaming Labs together withMad Head Games launched the hack-and-slash action RPGPagan Online.
In 2020, the development and publishing of the game was transferred to Mad Head Games and the game became a solo affair.[45] Soon after, the Wargaming Labs initiative was sunset.
In 2020, the Israel-based gaming companyMoon Active acquired the mobile game company Melsoft, previously belonging to Wargaming.[46] That year, theWorld of Tanks Blitz was released onNintendo Switch.[47]
In March 2020, the company released a PvP multiplayer online gameBowling Crew. The game has different modes and events, including multiplayer and single-player modes, tournaments, challenges and other seasonal activities.[48]
On April 9, 2021, Wargaming announced the opening of a new studio in Vilnius, Lithuania.[49][50]World of Tanks Modern Armor was launched on April 27, 2021, and presented vehicles from the Cold War era.[51]
In February 2022, amidst the full-scaleRussian invasion of Ukraine, Creative Director of Wargaming Sergey Burkatovskiy was fired following comments in support of Russia that he posted to his Facebook page.[52][53][54] Following his termination, Wargaming made the statement that saying "all our staff are now focused on helping out our over 550 colleagues from Kyiv and their families... Sergei's opinion is in complete contradiction with the company's position. He is no longer an employee of Wargaming."[55][56] Wargaming then left Russia and Belarus in April, losing $250 million in the process.[57] Wargaming supported the Ukrainian people and its Kyiv studio with the start of the full-scale war in 2022 and donated US$1 million toUkrainian Red Cross.[58] The company left Russia and Belarus, and shut down offices in Minsk, Moscow and St. Petersburg.[59] Wargaming suffered over US$250 million losses and 30% of the market.[60]
In 2022, Wargaming opened two new offices in Belgrade, Serbia, and Warsaw, Poland. Wargaming Belgrade focuses on both development and publishing across theWorld of Tanks andWorld of Warships franchises. Wargaming Warsaw meanwhile focuses on publishing with a potential for growth.[61][62]
On October 17, 2022,Riot Games completed its acquisition of Wargaming Sydney studio.[63] The studio was renamed Riot Sydney and its entire development staff joined Riot Sydney, while the existing publishing team remained a part of Wargaming.[64]
In 2023, Wargaming celebrated 25 years and offered a huge number of promotions. On the occasion of the 25th anniversary, Wargaming donated $250,000 throughUnited24, the official fundraising platform of Ukraine. The money was used to purchase medical equipment.[65]
In March 2024,World of Warships: Legends launched globally on iOS and Android.[66]
On June 3, 2025, Moscow court convicted Wargaming and its founder Victor Kislyi as an "extremist organization" over Wargaming's 2023 collaboration with United24. They also ordered the seizure and nationalization of Russia-based ex-Wargaming independent companyLesta Games, despite Lesta no longer having any ties with Wargaming during the event, and despite Lesta's own history of support for the Russian government and the Russian Armed Forces in the war against Ukraine.[67][68][69]
Wargaming Helsinki inHelsinki, Finland; founded as Boomlagoon in 2012, acquired and renamed in December 2016, closed in October 2019.[82]
Wargaming Copenhagen inCopenhagen, Denmark; founded as Hapti.co as a subsidiary ofIO Interactive, acquired and renamed in September 2017, sold to Rovio Entertainment in 2020.[83]
AnnualMemorial Day events in North America. Donating revenue from select in-app purchases to charities, includingAMVETS, Homes for Our Troops, and Military Families Fund.[93]
Fundraising for restoration projects at theTank Museum at Bovington, United Kingdom. Proceeds from special premium shop packages are donated to the museum and used to restore the museum's current fleet of operational vehicles and to buy the highly specialised tools required to service them.[95]
A 25-hour streaming marathon at Wargaming West to raise money for children's hospitals and other children's charities (November 2013).[96]
The Grace After Fire charity stream in North America. Assisting women veterans transitioning from military service, providing resources and a space to connect, renew, and heal.[97]
On 1 November 2017, theWorld of Warships team organized a fundraiser to support theUSSTexas Museum that was in severe financial need after the floods caused byHurricane Harvey. Special USSTexas bundles were offered to players on North American, European and South-East Asian servers. All of the proceeds from these sales were donated to the BattleshipTexas Foundation. Additionally, a referral program donated $25 to the foundation for each qualifying referral during the campaign. As of 1 December 2019, over $280,000 were raised by theWorld of Warships community for the preservation efforts.[99][100]
On 16 November 2019, Wargaming partnered with Muskogee War Memorial Park in Oklahoma to raise money to save theUSSBatfish (SS-310) submarine, with the goal of helping the museum reach $150,000 to cover the necessary repairs.[101] To raise money, a charity stream went live onTwitch. Unique patches were made available for purchase in the game with all proceeds from sales going directly to the USSBatfish preservation efforts.[102] This initiative helped raise $45,000.[102]
On 14 December 2019, Wargaming held aSave the Children 24-hour charity stream, aiming to raise $25,000.[103]
In 2020,World of Warships partnered with Stack Up — a nonprofit organization supporting veterans through gaming—to raise money and awareness for military veterans in need of mental health support. Operation Lifeboat raised US$114,000 for Stack Up's mental health awareness helpline.[104]
Remembrance charity drive inWorld of Warships in 2020 raised US$45,000 for Help for Heroes, which supports UK veterans and service members.[105]
In November 2021,World of Tanks joined forces withK9s For Warriors organization, the world's largest provider of Service Dogs for veterans. Charitable contributions received one of three "Vet's Best Friend" support packs based on the level of participation and raised over $25,000.[106]
In celebration of 2021International Museum Day, Wargaming, in partnership withVerizon, organizedThe Longest Night of Museums livestream. The online event included free virtual tours of 15 different naval museums worldwide attracting 1,4 million viewers on Twitch alone. The event has been repeated each year since then.[107]
In July 2021, Wargaming partnered up with theImperial War Museum to launch an interactive gaming room atop London's iconic museum ship,HMSBelfast.[108]
$106,000 were raised withWorld of Tanks,World of Tanks Modern Armor,World of Warships community for the Hawai'I Community Foundation Maui's Strong Fund in September 2023.[109]
In 2024,World of Tanks co-sponsored the FV4005 Restoration Project in partnership withThe Tank Museum.[110]
In 2024,World of Warships and FORCE BLUE presentedFrog Fathers: Lessons from the Normandy Surf documentary about four Navy SEALS veterans walking in the footsteps of their forefathers, on the site of the bloodiest day in U.S. Naval Special Warfare History.[111]
As part of its simulation initiatives, Wargaming is exploringvirtual andaugmented reality technologies. In early 2015, the company worked withGoogle to record and portray a 1941 battle in 360°[112] for theGoogle Cardboard mobile HMD.[113] This was followed by a series of panoramic tours of WWII tanks,Virtually Inside the Tanks Retrieved,[114] filmed in co-operation with Google and The Tank Museum in Bovington. Available via the Littlstar VR cinema network, the series included the T-34-76,[115] the M4 Sherman "Fury"[116] from the film of the same name, the Type 59,[117] Leopard 1,[118] and the Chieftain.[119] Each video also offers a tour with Wargaming military specialists Richard Cutland andNicholas Moran.[120]
To honour Victory Day, Wargaming released theWar Knows No Nation video.[121] The video rekindles the memories of three veteran World War II tankers, blending live action panorama footage with CG scenes for the very first time. In spring 2016, Wargaming worked with theNational Museum of the Royal Navy,Portsmouth Historic Dockyard and honoured the anniversary of theBattle of Jutland with an augmented reality app:HMS Caroline AR Experience.[122][123] As part of the 100 Years of Tanks celebration, Wargaming presented theVirtually inside the First Tanks 360° video that featured a walkthrough of Bovington's collection of early tanks, enhanced byWorld of Tanks in-game scenes and the free Tank 100 mobile app. Another in its range of 360° videos,Virtual Inside the Warships, featuresHMS Cavalier amongst others.[124]
In May 2017, Wargaming initially threatened to file aDigital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) claim against YouTube gaming content creator SirFoch over his scathing review of aWorld of Tanks premium tank, but later apologized and said a DMCA claim was not appropriate.[132]
In August 2021, Wargaming found itself amidst controversy once again when a large part of the "Community Contributors" (a form of associate program) walked out in protest over the over-proliferation of loot boxes and gambling mechanics inWorld of Warships, paired with the treatment of them and the players by the developers at Lesta Studio in the last few years.[133] In the wake of the walk out of the CC, an employee nicknamed "Gneisenau013" of the Texas office was terminated. In protest of this behavior, a senior manager forWorld of Tanks resigned, stating that the displayed behavior of the seniorWorld of Warships management is "cowardly, contemptible, and shitbird-like".[134]
^Tori McGrath.Wargaming.net League Announced for World of Tanks Quite possibly due to unofficial pressure from "other" esports organisations who dislike the Wargaming exploitive business model in use.Archived 13 November 2013 at theWayback Machine. Gamebreaker.tv February 2013. Retrieved 17 September 2013.
3,700 (2024[2])
