Igromir is Russia’s premiere annual exhibition of computer and video games, attracting hundreds of thousands of enthusiasts from around the globe. In Moscow, from October 1–4 Wargaming put on a huge show for this Igromir, revealing some great things for upcoming titles and fan favorites. Available on the floor were special game zones for World of Tanks, World of Warships, World of Warplanes, World of Tanks Blitz, World of Tanks on Xbox One, and World of Tanks Generals. In total, there were around 100 gaming stations.
A Wargaming booth and experience wouldn’t be the same without loads of competitions, eSports competitions and, of course, bonus codes. The booth was a hit with the press, too. “Game World Navigator” magazine awarded Wargaming with “Best Stand”. Other accolades included “Best MMO Game” (World of Tanks), “Best Free2Play game” (World of Warships), and “Best Debut” (Master of Orion).
We even have a fun infographic to show you some cool stats.
The idea behind the booth this year was inspired by the Colosseum of Ancient Rome. It had to capture the spirit of the time: epic gladiatorial fights, chariot racing—a real spectacle. But, what some people may not know, was the fact that there were also naval battles, known as “Naumachia”, which flooded the arena.
On offer for players was an exclusive look at the hotly anticipated Soviet destroyers in action. The legendary Tashkent, Izyaslav, and Gnevny, took to the seas for some skirmishes, much to the delight of the crowds.
“Although our booth is designed in a naval style, we are drawing special attention not only to World of Warships,” says Denis Lobko, Event Manager, Global Marketing. “This year has been full of events: the 5th anniversary of World of Tanks, the release on Xbox One, to name just a few.”
Wargaming’s business zone was also hard at work, entertaining the press and getting the word out about what exciting things we have in store.
“We had an extremely busy schedule at Igromir. Throughout the 4 days of the event the Business Development Team conducted over 85 meetings which took about 82 hours,” said Yuliya Malyarevskaya, Business Development Manager. “We met companies that are leaders in their respective markets, like Asus, Acer, GiGABYTE, LG, Beeline, MTS, Eldorado, MVideo, Radio Record, Panini, Burger King, etc. We discussed all sorts of collaboration directions: licensing, co-promotion, event sponsorship, preinstalls, and many others.”
Also for the first time at Igromir, Wargaming put on a huge conference, inviting around 500 media representatives to come along. We got to tell people more about WG Labs, Master of Orion, and the new branch of Soviet and German vessels about to appear over the horizon.
Another Igromir debut was that our very own offline shop was available for people to come and buy some official Wargaming merchandise. Visitors also had the opportunity to watch an eSports showdown between some of the finalists from last year’s Wargaming.net League Grand Finals.
Finally, as part of the military initiative in the CIS, “Remember Everything”, Wargaming had a very cool virtual reality video that reenacted a 1941 battle, with tanks, planes, and other vehicles, in special stereoscope.
Now we’ll just have to see if we can top next year.