100%

Wargaming Donates Materials Chronicling Its History to The Strong Museum

Wargaming, international developer and publisher of the award-winning War Trilogy that includes World of Tanks, World of Warships and World of Warplanes, recently sent a collection of materials, including digital archives, promotional items and fan-created artwork to The Strong Museum in New York.

Some of the materials, which detail the history of the company, are available for public viewing in The Strong’s eGameRevolution exhibit, and further history can be explored in World of War Games, an online exhibit launched through Google Arts and Culture.

“Wargaming is one of the most significant game developers of the past decade and has had a huge impact on the free-to-play game market,” says Andrew Borman, digital games curator at The Strong. “The types of artifacts included in this collection help us to present a well-rounded story about this company, from its founding to how it evolved its development of games over the years.”

“Wargaming’s success rests in no small part upon the work of curators at museums around the world, who have helped to preserve the vehicles and stories of World War II,” said Tracy Spaight, Director of Special Projects at Wargaming. “It is thus fitting that Wargaming—on the occasion of our 20th anniversary—should seek to preserve our company’s history, so that future historians can tell the story of the rise of the global video game industry. The Strong Museum was the logical choice for these materials, as they are at the leading edge of preserving the digital materials of the video game industry.”

The Wargaming Collection includes digital materials, such as photographs, promotional videos and trailers, along with behind-the-scenes video showing how the company’s games were created. It also features some promotional items for World of Tanks, including: a military canteen, matryoshka dolls and fan-created sculptures that highlight the impact of the series on players around the world.

eGameRevoluation itself is 5,000-square-foot exhibit dedicated to exploring the evolution of electronic games. World of War Games traces the history of Wargaming from its roots in Belarus to its emergence as a global company with offices around the world.

Says Borman, “This collection strengthens The Strong’s holdings of international video game company materials and helps capture the history of a key company in the free-to-play games marketplace—which continues to dominate the games industry.”