Lesta Games Studio Seized by Russia

Developer Lesta Games is a studio that splintered off of Wargaming and is responsible for running World of Tanks as well as other related franchises developed by Wargaming in Russia. However, recently, Lesta Studios and all three of their legal entities, “Lesta Games”, “Lesta Games Moscow”, and “Lesta Games Agency” have been seized by the Russian state.

The assets were seized because Wargaming has raised money in support of Ukraine, which is currently illegal under Russian law, according to a GameSpot article. Lesta Games has already declared that their company has no legal relationship with Wargaming, suggesting that the evidence of “extremist activity” might be unfounded, according to Meduza article.

The long-term fate of the game, studio, and player base is still uncertain. The government has declared that the player base won’t face any legal consequences for playing the game or making in games purchases because that isn’t classified as extremist behavior that supports Ukraine. The situation is seemingly similar to the banning of Instagram in Russia in regards to the legal consequences for players.

Despite the legal appeal in the Russian court, it’s likely that the company will first be transferred to the government and then to a company deemed appropriate by the government. However, it’s unclear whether or not games created by Lesta Games will remain playable during and after the transfer. It’s also unclear whether or not employees of Lesta Games will be able to continue working for the company and continue their development of Wargaming franchises in Russia.

While the seizing of Lesta Games is ongoing, the average player of a Wargaming title outside of Russia should remain unaffected unless they’re playing the Lesta version of the game. Wargaming still owns the rights to their franchise outside of Russia, and servers will continue to operate as usual.