Lesta gets new owner after 2025 nationalization, separate from Wargaming

Lesta, the Russian publisher of Mir Tankov and Mir Korabley, has passed to a new owner following its 2025 nationalization. Interfax reported on October 16, 2026, that JSC Industrial Structures acquired full stakes in the group’s three principal legal entities. The transaction concerns Lesta, not Wargaming’s international World of Tanks business.

Citing Russia’s Unified State Register of Legal Entities, Interfax identified the acquired companies as Lesta Games Moscow LLC, Lesta Games Agency LLC and Lesta LLC. UA.NEWS reported that Industrial Structures held all three as of October 15. Lesta confirmed the transaction to Interfax and described the buyer as a consortium of private investors, but neither the price nor the individual consortium members were disclosed.

The distinction between Lesta and Wargaming matters for players following the ownership news. Wargaming’s official operations update said it transferred its live games business in Russia and Belarus to Lesta’s local management effective March 31, 2022, and that Lesta was no longer affiliated with Wargaming. Lesta subsequently entered state ownership under a Tagansky Court decision in 2025, according to Interfax.

Lesta told Interfax that its management team and development strategy remained unchanged and that work continued on current and new products. That is the company’s stated position following the transaction, rather than a guarantee that future operations will remain the same.

The new owner also outlined expansion ambitions. Its representative told Interfax that it aimed to invest up to 10 billion rubles in Russia’s gaming industry over three years, including through a venture fund, and targeted at least five new products in total during that period. Those figures describe announced plans, not completed investment or confirmed releases.

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