MOSCOW, November 15. /TASS/. The company Lesta Games, which operates the Mir Tankov platform, has nothing to do with payments in the World of Tanks game, and its own payments do not violate Russian law, as all money and resources are used only for the development and operation of current and new products, the company's press service told TASS.

The European company Wargaming, which manages the World of Tanks game that left Russia, announced earlier this week that it had raised over $1 mln for Ukraine as part of the WargamingUnited campaign. The money will be donated to United24, a company set up at the initiative of the country's president Vladimir Zelensky.

"We have nothing to do with other games and projects of similar themes. We can assure our players that payments in Mir Tankov, Mir Korabley and Tanks Blitz are absolutely safe and do not violate Russian or Belarusian law. We use all the money and resources solely for the development and operation of current and new products and the preservation and development of the domestic game industry," said the press service of the group of companies Lesta Games in response to a request to comment on the situation with the fundraising by Wargaming.

In turn, one of the original developers, who came up with the idea for Mir Tankov, and co-founded the Video Game Industry Development Organization Vyacheslav Makarov noted in a conversation with a TASS correspondent that after the split last year, the difference between the two companies’ games was evident.

"It is clear from everything we have observed that Lesta is independent of Wargaming. Wargaming's actions put Lesta at significant risk. Wargaming does this intentionally, without even trying to mitigate the damage in any way. This means that Wargaming does not care what happens to Lesta," Makarov noted.

Politics and author's word

Albert Zhiltsov, director of 1C Game Studios, said that he was against politics getting into games, but games have creators and these creators have points of view that may seep into the game. He noted that if games become a propaganda tool, then people will lose a way to connect with each other

"If the creator is sincere in his beliefs, we cannot and should not restrict the creator, unless he violates the laws of the territory where he is creating. <...> From Wargaming's point of view, this (the campaign to raise funds for Ukraine - TASS) is the work of the marketing department. It is a PR campaign not related to development. If they had added something to their product, for example, a specific technique, I could consider it as an author's position, it would have an explanation, but I don't see any explanation here. I can only assume that the company is pursuing some goals that are not related to game products or games, but are related to business," said Zhiltsov.

He also confirmed that the Mir Tankov operator has no connection to Wargaming and that "all the money stays in Russia."

Alexander Mikheyev, Director General of the Association of Operations and Game Development Industry Professionals (APRIORI), also noted that what Lesta Games does has nothing to do with the activities of other companies pursuing their own goals.

"We have been working with Lesta Games for a long time and can guarantee the security of their content and in-game payments. We stand behind all market participants in this respect," said Mikheyev.

Fundraising for Ukraine

In April last year, Wargaming, known for developing the online computer game World of Tanks, announced its withdrawal from the Belarusian and Russian markets. As of March 31, the company transferred its online gaming-related business in these countries to the local management of Lesta Games.

On October 13, 2022, World of Tanks, World of Warships and World of Tanks: Blitz changed their names to Mir Tankov, Mir Korabley and Tanks Blitz respectively in Russia and Belarus.