Russian Court Seizes World of Tanks Publisher’s Assets, Labels Leadership Extremists

The Tagansky District Court in Moscow has ordered the seizure of assets of Lesta Games, a Russian video game developer and publisher best known for operating World of Tanks and World of Warships in Russia and Belarus. The court also labeled both Lesta’s owner, Malik Khatajiev, and Wargaming’s founder, Victor Kislyi, as participants in an extremist organization.

The decision was announced via the official Telegram channel of the Moscow courts. It follows the April 17, 2025, arrest of all major legal entities linked to Lesta Games, including its main company, Moscow office and publishing arm. The arrests were made at the request of Russia’s Prosecutor General’s Office.

Lesta Games has been running World of Tanks and World of Warships in Russia and Belarus since July 1, 2022, after Wargaming withdrew from those markets due to the war in Ukraine.

It is worth noting that just before the legal entities of Lesta Games were seized, CEO Khatajiev revealed in talks with RBC Saint Petersburg that (according to the exchange rate at the time of the interview) the studio’s revenue reached about $395 million and net profit amounted to approximately $181 million.

Then, as was reported by RIA Novosti on April 26, 2025, the Office of the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation asked the Tagansky Court of Moscow to ban Khatajiev and Kislyi for engaging in extremist activities in Russia and to seize 100% of Lesta’s shares in favor of the state.

The claimant attached publications to the lawsuit with headlines such as “The most military game, World of Tanks, against Russia’s special operation,” “How Wargaming survived 25 years — and dealt with the war in Ukraine,” and “Wargaming launched a charity project with Ukrainian content in its games to raise funds for medical evacuation vehicles.”

On April 30, 2025, Khatajiev made an official statement declaring that the lawsuit came as a surprise to the company, becoming known essentially after the fact when the accounts were frozen. He also stated that, despite the freezing of accounts, business operations of Lesta Games would continue, including salary payments. The company switched focus to demonstrating its transparency to the Office of the Prosecutor General. Khatajiev highlighted that if the lawsuit is upheld, ownership of the company will be transferred to Rosimushchestvo, the federal agency for state property management.

Notably, on May 15, 2025, during the preliminary hearing, the Tagansky Court of Moscow denied the defendant’s request for a public hearing in the case of the Lesta Games group of companies, according to Lesta’s statement on Telegram.

On May 21, 2025, ahead of the first hearing set for May 27, 2025, four Russian IT associations — APKIT, Domestic Software, Russoft and the Association of the Gaming Industry — signed an open letter to the president of the Russian Federation expressing the deep concern of the IT industry regarding the proceedings against Lesta Games. The letter expressed concerns that the legal action against Lesta is merely a false pretext for the redistribution of economic assets and the forced confiscation of property.

The hearing was then rescheduled by the Tagansky Court of Moscow from May 27, 2025, to July 3, 2025, due to unnamed new evidence presented by the Office of the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation.

It remains unclear if Lesta’s versions of World of Tanks and World of Warships will continue to proceed.