World of Tanks developer Wargaming has established a mobile game development and publishing division called Wargaming Mobile.
Headquartered in Nicosia, Cyprus, it will be led by former GREE and Kabam executive Keith Kawahata.
“Wargaming Mobile brings more than just the Wargaming company’s stellar lineup of proven PC titles ready for adaptation to smartphones and tablets, as has already been done with World of Tanks Blitz,” he said.
“We also offer the Wargaming Mobile Publishing Program, a comprehensive publishing solution for smaller developers to use as a springboard to instant market presence and consumer awareness.
"We look forward to delivering a strong stable of first- and third-party games that not only leverage our own series of vehicular combat MMOs, but also broaden the Wargaming Mobile lineup to include other game genres, as we did successfully with Gods and Glory.”
More than war
For its publishing program, Wargaming Mobile will be freely offering services from AppsFlyer, Amazon GameLift and Amazon Web Services, DeltaDNA and Unreal Engine to help partnering developers for six months with no obligation.
Games that perform well in soft launch will get access to Wargaming's free-to-play monetisation expertise, as well as funds for marketing campaigns and even further development.
The aforementioned Gods and Glory, developed by Friday's Games, was the first Wargaming-published mobile game, before Wargaming Mobile formally existed.
“Working with Wargaming to publish Gods & Glory was a rewarding experience for all parts of our business,” said Stanislav Savvinykh, CEO of Friday’s Games.
“With Wargaming Mobile, the process looks to be even more streamlined while offering more support and expertise from Wargaming and its strategic partners.
"As any mobile developer can tell you, leave the publishing to the publishers and devote your energy to making your game as fun and engaging as possible - that’s the appeal of Wargaming Mobile.”
In December 2016, Wargaming made another statement of intent in the mobile space with the acquisition of Finnish studio Boomlagoon.
