The Belarusian gaming developer Wargaming is behind military simulations such as World of Tanks and World of Warships. With a large studio in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, they are directly affected by the war that Russia is waging against Ukraine. A creative director spoke out for the war on Facebook. Wargaming has distanced itself from him and fired him.
Why was the chief creative officer fired? Sergey “SerB” Burkatovskiy posted on Facebook on February 25:
I support the operations of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, the People’s Republics of Donetsk (LPR) and Luhansk (LPR). The rest is nuances.
Sergey “SerB” Burkatovskiy on Facebook
The Facebook post has since been deleted but was recorded, spread, and discussed.
“Statement does not correspond at all to the attitude of our company”
How did Wargaming react: The studio distanced itself from these statements. They informed a Russian site on February 25 (via cyber-sports-ru.)
“Sergey is truly an employee of our company and is expressing his personal beliefs here, which do not correspond at all to the attitude of our company. All our efforts are currently focused on helping the more than 550 colleagues in our studio in Kyiv and their families.”
Wargaming
Only a day later, on February 26, the creative director said on Facebook: He had “broken off” with Wargaming.
In a statement from Wargaming to PC Gamer, it continues:
“Sergey Burkatovsky shared his personal impressions on social media that categorically do not reflect Wargaming’s position. He has been fired and is no longer with the company.”
Wargaming
Wargaming does everything to help employees in Kyiv and their families
What is Wargaming’s stance? Wargaming has issued a statement and also sent it to MeinMMO:
- The safety and health of employees are the top priority
- They do everything to help the more than 550 colleagues in the studio in Kyiv. “All available company resources are being used to support them”: They provide alternative accommodations, pay salaries in advance, and provide funds for travel or relocation
- They help families travel to safe neighboring countries and organize accommodations for them
- Wargaming has also donated one million US dollars to the Ukrainian Red Cross
- Wargaming announces that it can provide further humanitarian aid if the situation requires it
– Massive explosion shakes government building in Kharkiv (via spiegel-online)
– War in Ukraine: Belarusian troops reportedly march into Ukraine (via nzz)
– Solidarity with Ukraine (via auswertiges-amt)
As PC Gamer reports, Wargaming stopped all advertising worldwide when the invasion began. They revised the advertising strategy to remove images of rolling tanks and other military vehicles. The new advertising has resumed but remained suspended in Ukraine.
It is said: “We believe it is inappropriate and insensitive to advertise our games while it is the center of the conflict.”
We spoke with Wargaming, and they confirmed to MeinMMO that Sergey Burkatovskiy was fired.
