On the 25th anniversary of Wargaming (World of Tanks), MeinMMO editor-in-chief Leya Jankowski was able to interview Victor Kislyi. Victor reflects on tough decisions, joys, and the future of gaming.
25 years ago, a student named Victor founded a gaming studio that we know as Wargaming. Today, Wargaming is known for its vehicle shooters. The studio made its big breakthrough in 2010 with the tank game World of Tanks and now employs more than 3,500 people worldwide.
Such an anniversary is reason enough to grill the boss with a few questions from 25 years of game development. This is the second part of the interview, the first can be found here:
Most of the time for “boring” things
MeinMMO: How does it feel that Wargaming is now a quarter of a century old?
Victor Kislyi: Honestly, I still feel like a young student in the 90s playing games. I am still hungry. I want to surprise the world again and again with something new and exciting.
Of course, I now bear the responsibility for a company, but it is a pleasant responsibility – to update our games, to further develop them, to create new games – so things have changed compared to then, but I still feel the same and have the same ambitions.
MeinMMO: What does a typical workday look like for you?
Victor Kislyi: As we are a large global company, I have to spend a large part of my working time on “boring” things like board meetings and other company-related matters – that’s about 15-20% of my time.
The things that have given me the most joy over the last 25 years are testing games, brainstorming meetings for game design, making plans for new updates, upgrades for the games, and so on. I test prototypes and discuss them with my team. I am very involved in that.
I founded Wargaming when I was still at university, so I’ve never had another job besides Wargaming. This gives me a lot of knowledge. Technically, I am the most experienced developer at Wargaming, I feel like a coach. Perhaps one can compare this a bit to Alex Ferguson in his time at Manchester United.
MeinMMO: What inspires you the most about your work after 25 years?
Victor Kislyi: Let me illustrate that with an example: A few weeks ago, we had gamescom and we had a gamer party in Cologne. We will be hosting parties all over the world again, but due to the pandemic, we had to pause for a while and now the first party back was at gamescom.
I was there and met so many familiar faces – not from Wargaming, I mean the German players. At these parties, it’s not about the beer or the band playing, but about the smiles on people’s faces. When people come to me and talk about the games, ask about modifications to their favorite tanks or ships, or want to know why we did this or that and take photos with me.
And I already know many of the faces from players for a long time. We met in Cologne before the pandemic and now we can see each other again after years and hug like old friends. Like in this example, I am very happy to see that there are millions of players around the world whom Wargaming brings happiness through great entertainment.
Stricter, analytical, critical
MeinMMO: If you could turn back time 25 years and give some advice regarding the founding of Wargaming: What would you say to your younger self?
Victor Kislyi: A good question. The answer would be: Be stricter, more analytical, and more critical. Don’t allow lame ideas that waste money.
Stop projects that waste resources, and allocate those resources to other projects that work well. But I can say that now, after these projects. We are part of the game industry, one never knows what will ultimately work.
MeinMMO: If you were to found a game studio again in today’s time, do you think you could be successful again, and if so, how?
Victor Kislyi: Yes! Because I am a passionate gamer and bringing games to people is what I truly love.
And now I have a long experience in this field, good contacts around the world, a large network of passionate people, and a bunch of ideas for game designs in my head.
In my whole life, I have never dreamed of another job.
13 years without success
MeinMMO: What do you consider to be the five most significant milestones that Wargaming has achieved since its founding?
Victor Kislyi: Massive Assault – our first major internationally acclaimed strategy game.
Order of War – World War II meets Total War on a grand scale, published by Square Enix, how could I forget that?
Number three is World of Tanks, the answer is obvious.
The scaling of Wargaming after the initial triumph of World of Tanks – building an international team and scaling our development and publishing worldwide.
And what is number 5? The continued success of World of Warships and World of Warships: Legends.
And I would like to add a number 6, because the clear winner in this regard is: 13 years without significant success on the way to fulfilling the dream of surviving. Those 13 years before success were like a test, and we passed it.
MeinMMO: What was the hardest decision you had to make regarding Wargaming in the last 25 years?
Victor Kislyi: When we had the idea for World of Tanks, something absolutely crazy, something we had never done before, a must-have multiplayer MMORPG with tanks.
It sounded crazy, and I had to decide that the company would stop doing everything else, no matter how promising or secure it was. And that we would fully commit to this new, utopian idea and really implement it consistently.
MeinMMO: What is the fondest memory you associate with your work at Wargaming?
Victor Kislyi: The release of World of Tanks, when unimaginable efforts, hopeless times, and hardships preceded it – that was for us like the launch of Apollo 13.
And the next morning – I left the office around 4 a.m. and wondered: ‘What will happen when you wake up?’ – and it was just incredible. People loved it. The payment system crashed, and the number of players rose and rose.
It looked like a DDOS attack, but it was people playing the game we had developed. That was a great moment.
A crazy idea can work
MeinMMO: World of Tanks was (and is) a huge success. How do you think this MMO has influenced the market?
Victor Kislyi: We definitely introduced new game mechanics.
Let’s just take Counter Strike or Call of Duty – games that many people like, so shooters in general. But with these machines, as we did it, it plays completely differently. There is a new gameplay and many new emotions. It is big, it is heavy, it is not as linear as the shooters of that time.
I mean to say that a crazy idea can actually work. People didn’t believe in it, but players loved it. And we brought a no-pay-to-win metagame to the market that was suitable for the Western world. That has been our principle from the beginning, we have maintained it, and we will continue to do so.
MeinMMO: How do you think the MMO genre has evolved in the past 25 years?
Victor Kislyi: Free-to-play MMOs are now mature across all markets. They have high quality, and large companies are involved.
There are now these AAA MMOs like World of Tanks, World of Warships, and some other games from other companies, very good games. You can get this high quality for free for a game that used to cost around 60 € for a box.
This can offer players more options and more fun. Since World of Tanks and Call of Duty Warzone can be played for free, players benefit from it.
75% of players do not pay
MeinMMO: In recent years, the free-to-play model and microtransactions have been viewed more critically. Why do you stick to it?
Victor Kislyi: This model is constantly evolving. We are absolutely focused on ensuring that there is no pay-to-win in our games. And believe me, as soon as there is pay-to-win, the community will destroy it like a tsunami.
Not just in our games, but in all Western free-to-play games. As long as players accept and enjoy it, there are more opportunities, and you can reach more people. People who would never have bought your game.
75% of our players do not pay at all. That brings great opportunities and that’s why we will maintain our free-to-play model.
MeinMMO: In recent years, there has been an increase in reports of sexist and toxic behavior in established and long-standing game studios, which is often equated with a fraternity culture. My question is: What is Wargaming doing and has Wargaming done in the last 25 years to promote diversity and combat toxic behavior within the company?
Victor Kislyi: At Wargaming, I have the power and the opportunity to pursue equality as a principle in our hiring process.
We have a diverse working environment with employees from 60 different countries in 16 offices worldwide. More than 40% of our current employees have been with us for more than five years – this means we are doing a lot right.
MeinMMO: What is your vision for the future of Wargaming?
Victor Kislyi: The good news is that we are back in the black. We have made many sacrifices [because of the Ukraine war], but we have players in America, Europe, and Asia whom we can make happy with our games.
What has kept us alive in these 25 years, with all the ups and downs, the many setbacks, including the pandemic and the ongoing war, is our passion for games and our main task that we never forget: to make great games.
What will we do in the future? We will make our existing games even better. World of Tanks, World of Warships, and the Blitz titles. We will improve it, release more updates, and keep our players entertained for the next 25 years. And we have two big, exciting, and ambitious AAA projects in development for the future.
In the past, there were bankers without knowledge of games
MeinMMO: What do you think will happen in the gaming market in the next 5-10 years?
Victor Kislyi: What will definitely dominate are AAA games with high production quality and high budgets, large franchises, and flawless execution.
This type of AAA games, as produced by Activision, Microsoft, and some other companies. The quality will not only relate to graphics and effects but also to customer service. I also believe that there will be some new free-to-play innovations that we do not yet know about, such as the battle pass in recent years.
A good thing is that there are new investors. People who are actually gamers.
People from gaming companies who have changed jobs and are now working in the investment sector and bring money from institutions into the gaming industry. In the past, there were bankers, but they had no knowledge of games. These new people will bring new “smart” money that will boost the industry.
We own the concept of the vehicle shooter
MeinMMO: What role will Wargaming play in the future of gaming?
Victor Kislyi: We will not make dance games, racing games, or anything like that. Our specialty is tanks, ships, and planes. Whether historical or science fiction. We will let our players choose to jump into a virtual combat machine, whether they like it fast or slow, all kinds of classes.
One jumps in, plunges into battle, and gets their five to ten minutes of adrenaline. If one loses, one can start over. We will offer players upgrades, social features, and customization options.
We own the concept of the vehicle shooter and will dominate it. It is a hobby and will remain a hobby. It is like football or tennis. One will keep returning to it, and we are here to deliver the best possible games for it.
MeinMMO: What advice would you give to young people who want to enter the gaming industry now in 2023?
Victor Kislyi: Those who want to enter the game industry will definitely do so. As Indies or they will work part-time, as interns, etc. Just as I did 25 years ago.
But my advice: Find a way to study math and physics.
MeinMMO: Thank you, Victor, for taking the time to answer our questions!
