Did you know that World of Tanks could have been replaced by yet another World of Warcraft clone, and that the theft of virtual tanks is reported to the police?
Find out about these and other facts in our selection:
1. The game’s budget is comparable to a Hollywood blockbuster
According to the developers, the largest budget in the history of the domestic gaming industry was allocated to create World of Tanks, comparable to the development of a Hollywood blockbuster, but the exact figures were not disclosed.
Testing of the alpha version of the game began in autumn 2009 — at that time, the game had only five tank models and one unfinished map.
2. Instead of World of Tanks, a game about orcs and elves in the style of World of Warcraft could have been released
Orc and elf figures were already ready, and campaign plots were actively being created. But in the end, Victor Kislyi* (founder and CEO of Wargaming.net) changed his mind — almost 12 months of the studio’s work were wasted.
Kisly managed to convince the rest of the company’s employees that an MMO game about tanks was fresh and innovative. Secondly, the company already had experience in creating historical games: the strategy game Operation Bagration, although not a mass hit, was well received by players and critics.
3. The author of the idea for World of Tanks was not actually Viktor Kisly*, but Petr Bityukov
Petr Bityukov is an economist by education and a historian by vocation, who has been fascinated by military technology since childhood. It was he who persuaded Kisly to create a game about tanks.
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His arguments proved convincing in the final decision on the future game.
4. Tanks are created based on historical drawings
And also based on verbal descriptions preserved in the minutes of government and ministry meetings. Sometimes developers have to buy archives at auctions, ask for government support, and visit museums.
The company employs more than 20 historians.
Before reaching the test servers, each tank goes through 21 stages of development.
5. The game features not only male tankers, but also female tankers
Female tankers were added to World of Tanks in update 9.5. They were modelled on female employees of the company, who were turned into commanders, gunners, loaders, mechanics, drivers and radio operators in the game.
6. There are known cases where criminal cases were brought for the theft of virtual tanks
There are at least five known cases related to missing tanks. The first case occurred in November 2012: the department for investigating high-tech crimes of the Gomel Regional Executive Committee received a report about a missing tank.
7. At one of the first World of Tanks tournaments, the winner and runners-up were awarded cognac, vodka and birch sap
The World of Tanks tournament held at KRI-2010 was memorable for its unusual prizes: the winner received a canister filled with cognac, the runner-up received a canister filled with vodka, and the third-place finisher received a canister filled with birch sap.