World Of Tanks Studio Seized By Russia, Accused Of Supporting Ukraine

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World of Tanks lets players engage in simulated war battles, but the real war between Russia and Ukraine has led to Lesta Games--the Russian studio behind the game--facing charges that it illegally funneled money from its title to Ukraine.The original developer of World of Tanks is WargamingUnited, a company that withdrew from Russia and Belarus directly because of Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Wargaming has also raised money in support of Ukraine, which would be a crime under current Russian law. Lesta Games--which took over the local Russian rights for World of Tanks--has repeatedly stressed that it has no relationship with Wargaming. That wasn't enough to prevent Russia from seizing control of Lesta Games.As reported by PC Gamer, Moscow has frozen all assets that belong to Lesta Games, and accused the company's co-founder, Malik Khatazhaev, of being part of an "extremist group" under the control of Wargaming CEO Viktor Kisly. The evidence cited in court reportedly drew upon footage of Wargaming's support for Ukraine.Continue Reading at GameSpot