The Moscow-based developer and publisher Lesta Games, known for managing popular online titles such as World of Tanks, World of Ships, and Tanks Blitz, has signaled openness to relocating its projects onto a Russian-made gaming console. This stance comes as a notable statement from Andrey Lysak, the product director at World of Tanks, who outlined the company’s readiness to align its portfolio with a domestically produced hardware platform.
According to Lysak, Lesta Games has consistently represented a distinctly Russian development voice. He emphasized that the entire local gaming ecosystem should start by looking ahead, viewing the console initiative as a concrete expression of that forward-thinking mindset. The aim, he said, is to showcase how a homegrown console could empower prominent Russian titles to reach players without depending on foreign hardware ecosystems.
We are prepared to transition our projects to the Russian gaming console and are ready to contribute to its growth, Lysak added. This commitment highlights a broader industry trend toward leveraging national technology infrastructure to expand creative control and security within the gaming sector.
Nevertheless, Lysak acknowledged that building a new console and porting existing games to it is a lengthy, challenging journey. It involves extensive engineering work, compatibility testing, and careful adaptation of gameplay experiences to fit a different hardware environment. The timelines are measured in years rather than months, and the process requires sustained collaboration among developers, hardware designers, and distribution partners.
The ambitious plan has drawn skepticism from some observers who question the feasibility of launching a native Russian console amid global competition. History shows that ambitious technology projects often face early doubts, yet proponents point to examples of domestic tech efforts that matured into viable products after initial hesitation. In this context, supporters suggest that the console project could benefit from a unified national strategy to nurture local talent and ensure that popular games find a home on a national platform.
Recent public discourse has connected this console initiative with broader government interest in strengthening domestic digital industries. While specifics remain under discussion, the intent appears to be shaping a more self-reliant gaming ecosystem in which leading Russian studios can publish directly to a homegrown device and potentially collaborate with regional developers to expand the catalog.