The team would have wanted access to extra Silver audience

Jun 25, 2013 09:34 GMT  ·  By

Victor Kislyi, the chief executive officer of Wargaming, says that he is not happy with the requirement to have an Xbox Live Gold subscription in order to play the Xbox 360 version of World of Tanks.

The company tolerates it because Microsoft required it in order to offer access to the gaming platform.

The team at Wargaming would have liked to get access to the 30 or 40 million people who lack an Xbox Live Gold subscription but might be interested in playing the tank-based multiplayer title.

When World Of Tanks launched, those who have a Silver level subscription will only get access to a trial version of the free-to-play experience.

The executive tells GamesIndustry.biz that, “Everybody knows Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo are traditional console companies which are huge in their own merit. They have lots of divisions, lots of departments, lots of regulations. We respect that, and whining and complaining about that structure does not help.”

Kislyi also explained that his team was interested in launching on the Xbox 360 in order to get access to a new audience.

He states, “Different territories have different tastes. China, Korea, Russia, they have no consoles. Obviously, North America, UK and Europe are heavy console markets. We have to cater to our players, whatever they use.”

World of Tanks is designed to allow players to get access to combat vehicles that the biggest powers of World War II used in battle.

Wargaming is at the moment working on World of Planes, which is in beta stage, and on World of Warships, which will be playable next year.

World of Tanks will be out on the Xbox 360 later in the summer.

Wargaming has not yet talked about a PlayStation 4 version or a launch of its games on next-gen devices from Sony or Microsoft.