It's out of the game: the developers of the "World of tanks" may lose business as early as May

The hearing of the case on the extremist activities of the Lesta Games Group will be held in the Tagansky District Court on May 27, Izvestia learned. A large computer game development company will have to prove its innocence to extremism and the financing of the Armed Forces. Industry sources believe that Lesta has very little chance of winning in court, despite its large team of lawyers. The details of the upcoming court session are in the Izvestia material.

What are the authors of the "World of Tanks" accused of?

The Tagansky District Court of Moscow will consider the case of the extremist activities of the Lesta Games Group on May 27, Izvestia learned. The organization will have to prove its innocence to extremism and financing of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In a preliminary court interview that took place on May 15, the company was represented by a team of six lawyers led by lawyer Roman Makarov.

Photo: IZVESTIA/Mikhail Tereshchenko

— The court asked to submit documents proving the reality of the separation of Lesta and Wargaming companies. He gave little time between the interview and the main court hearing, which is scheduled for May 27. This is a very short time to prepare substantive objections," Roman Makarov, partner at the NSP Law Office, explained to Izvestia.

In April 2025, the Prosecutor General's Office filed a lawsuit demanding that a 100% share of Lesta Games be converted into state revenue and that the association of its owner Malik Khatazhayev and Wargaming owner Viktor Kisly be banned in Russia for "extremist activities." We are talking about the shares of the companies "Lesta", "Lesta Games Agency" and "Lesta Games Moscow".

The lawsuit includes examples of publications with headlines: "World of Tanks' most military game against Russia's special operation," "Wargaming has launched a charity project with Ukrainian content in games to raise funds for reanimobiles."

According to the press service of Lesta, the charges in this case relate to the actions of the Wargaming company, and it has not been related to Lesta for two years. The separation took place in the summer of 2023, since then Malik Khatazhaev and Viktor Kisly have not communicated and have not been in joint structures. The Russian "World of Tanks" is not related to the international World of Tanks, the company added.

Rope perspective: what the court came to in the high-profile case of tying up children

After the scandal at the boarding school near Voronezh, the former teachers who were the first to publicly admit the problem were found guilty.

Lest believes that preliminary and main hearings will be held on May 27.

The founder of the Group of Companies previously reported that Lesta's revenue by the end of 2024 amounted to 35 billion rubles, and its profit was 16 billion rubles. The audience exceeds 6.5 million people.

What consequences await the company

If the management of Lesta is unable to provide convincing evidence of their innocence, this can lead to serious consequences for their business. First of all, legal risks for management may include criminal prosecution: arrests, travel bans, including confiscation of personal assets, which, of course, carries global financial risks. Even the very existence of accusations from the state can seriously undermine the trust of the audience and partners, which will lead to a drop in income and loss of market positions. In extreme cases, the company's activities can be completely stopped and its assets confiscated, says Mikhail Pimenov, Director of Development of the gaming industry at Synergy University.

A shot from the game "World of Tanks"

Photo: t.me/official_mirtankovru

— The legal consequences for Lesta in the event that the company fails to prove its innocence seem very likely and serious. The risk of nationalization depends on many factors, including the political context, the strategic importance of the company and the international obligations of the state," the expert noted.

An industry source believes that Lesta has been cooperating with Wargaming for too long to consider itself completely independent of Viktor Kisly's actions. As an example, he recalled an episode from Martin Scorsese's movie "The Nice Guys," where the owner of a thriving restaurant decided to make a mafia boss his business partner and eventually lost his business.

A lawsuit to recover assets of companies associated with Lesta Games for state revenue is far from the first case where the state becomes the owner for various reasons, said Mikhail Kurdzhev, lawyer and partner at A2 Law Firm.

— However, the IT industry has its own specifics, assets do not consist of warehouses, factories and mechanized industries. The main asset in IT is the intellectual rights and expertise of the people working with them. The satisfaction of the claim may lead to the suspension of the operation of the digging games on the territory of the Russian Federation," he added.

According to Yaroslav Meshalkin, managing partner of the Heads'made digital communications agency, in the event of a leadership shift, the Lesta Games Group team may refuse to continue working. In the high—tech industry, human capital is the foundation of business.

A shot from the game "World of Tanks"

Photo: t.me/official_mirtankovru

— The release of games as a product will continue, but the question is in what form and with what results. If managerial turbulence begins inside Lesta, this will affect the quality, audience engagement and, consequently, revenue," the expert concluded.

A source close to the company's management believes that Lesta may be faced with a choice in court — liquidation or forced change of ownership. According to another Izvestia source, Malik Khatazhayev's chances of losing business are extremely high.

The meeting on May 27 will be held in a closed format, as well as a preliminary conversation.