Belarusian publisher Wargaming departs from Russia and Belarus. It is unknown why the company chose to do this. Wargaming did not give a specific reason for the departure, but it is believed to be related to the war in Ukraine.

“Over the past few weeks, Wargaming has conducted a strategic review of its global business operations. The company has decided not to own or operate any further businesses in Russia and Belarus and will exit from both countries,” Wargaming said in a statement. Learn about LinkedIn’s message† The publisher is headquartered in Cyprus.

Wargaming wrote that since March 31, it has been in the process of moving its games to Lesta Studio, which was previously part of Wargaming and is based in the Russian city of Saint Petersburg. This includes the World of Tanks and World of Warships games. Wargaming will also close its studio in the Belarusian capital, Minsk.

The publisher says it will not benefit from the conversion and expects to “incur significant losses as a result of the decision”. During the transition period, the games will continue to be available in Russia and Belarus. There it is operated by Lista Studio. It is not clear exactly how long the conversion process will take.

Wargaming didn’t say why it exited Russia and Belarus, but the war in Ukraine appears to play a role. Last month The publisher has fired World of Tanks director Sergey BurkatovskyBecause he supported the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Wargaming has a studio in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. The publisher said at the time that it would do its best to support more than 550 employees from Ukraine on their journey out of the country.