On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of Wargaming (World of Tanks), MeinMMO editor-in-chief Leya Jankowski had the opportunity to interview Victor Kislyi. Victor is the founder and CEO of Wargaming, a studio that has its roots in Belarus – these roots have been completely uprooted due to the war.
On the morning of February 24, 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine. A war breaks out. The war continues to this day.
In 2023, a game studio with Russian roots celebrates its 25th anniversary. In 1998, Victor Kislyi founded the studio Wargaming in Minsk (Belarus). It is today particularly known for its vehicle shooters like World of Tanks and World of Warships. On April 4, 2022, Wargaming announced that it intends to completely leave Russia – and follows through.
On the occasion of this anniversary, Wargaming offered us an interview with Victor, which we will publish in two parts on MeinMMO. The first part of the interview focuses on the profound experience of managing several hundred employees and a studio in a war zone.
We had to make many sacrifices
MeinMMO: A topic that is surely not easy to talk about is the ongoing war in Ukraine. How has the current situation in Ukraine affected daily operations and development at Wargaming?
Victor Kislyi: When the war in Ukraine began, we first had to help our employees in Kyiv. Of course, we held many meetings afterward, and the management team came to the decision to cease all activities in Russia and Belarus. We were as united in this decision as never before. And we all made the only right decision. And why? Because we all decided to stand on the right side of history.
But for us, that was of course a catastrophe. Before the war, two-thirds of our employees worked in these three countries (Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine). And we had to relocate the employees, about 1000 families, meaning they had to leave their homes and move to a completely unfamiliar country.
And it was very painful when we made the financial decision. It was clear that we would certainly suffer a significant financial loss the next morning. We are talking about 250 million US dollars in revenue that we lost overnight. One-third of our player base came from Russia and Belarus.
We also lost about one-third of our employees – we suffered a lot of damage and had to make many sacrifices during the restructuring because we had to act quickly. We had to discontinue some development initiatives; we lost 3 new, unannounced games, to be precise. The withdrawal from Russia and Belarus was more substantial for us than for most other global companies.
But under these truly bad circumstances, we managed to maintain our live games without interruption; we had new game modes and new content. We did not forget our main task as a company, which is to make our millions of players who entrust us with their time worldwide happy. It was not easy, but our employees did not forget this mission that we have as Wargaming, even though they were very stressed, and I am very proud of that.
My thoughts were with our 430 employees in Kyiv
MeinMMO: What was the first thing that went through your mind when you received the news of the invasion of Ukraine?
Victor Kislyi: The first thing that went through my mind was horror, and I thought of the suffering of the Ukrainian population, and of course, my thoughts were immediately with our 430 employees in Kyiv (Ukraine) and their families. We had some emergency plans prepared that were implemented in the first one to two hours after we learned of the events.
MeinMMO: What measures has Wargaming taken to ensure the safety and well-being of its employees and their families in the affected areas?
Victor Kislyi: For such a case, we already had plans. First, we provided buses to bring our employees and their families to safety in western Ukraine. This happened only a few hours after the invasion began. We took everyone who wanted to a safe place where accommodation and a temporary workplace were prepared. We also had additional financial resources to assist people with travel and relocation.
But we not only helped our employees; we also donated one million dollars to the Ukrainian Red Cross, contributed to the procurement of ambulances and medical equipment for Ukraine, supported victims of the destroyed power plant Kakhovka, and much more. On the occasion of the 25th anniversary, Wargaming donated a total of 250,000 US dollars through the platform United24. The money was used to purchase medical equipment to help those affected by the war in Ukraine.
There is no turning back
MeinMMO: How will the current events in Ukraine affect the future of Wargaming?
Victor Kislyi: We made the right decision immediately after the invasion and implemented it faster than any Western company I know, faster than humans can. We have no presence, no connections, no influence, no exchange of money, no workforce, whatever, neither in Russia nor in Belarus. We are proud of that.
There is no turning back, no regrets. We believe that we have chosen the right side of history.
This is our starting point for the future.
Many thanks to you, Victor, for your openness and time.
In the second part of the interview, Victor shares insights into difficult decisions, the workday of a studio head, and offers assessments on the future gaming market:
