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By Alexander Hamilton•Last Updated May 9, 2025

Gaijin Entertainment Ownership: The Company Behind War Thunder

The origins and ownership of gain entertainment

Gain entertainment is a video game developer and publisher good know for creating the popular military vehicle combat game war thunder. Found in 2002, the company has grown importantly over the years, but information about its ownership structure has sometimes been subject to confusion and speculation.

Gain entertainment was found by anAntonudintsev and his brother kikrilludintsev in mosMoscowusRussiahe yudintsev brothers remain the primary owners of the company to this day, with antAntonrve as ceoCEOnlike many game development studios that have been acqacquired larger corporations, gagainas mainmaintained independence as a prprivate holdompany.

The leadership structure

The company operate under the leadership of:

Anton yudintsev CEO and co founder
Krill yudintsev creative director and co founder

This comparatively straightforward ownership structure has allowegainin to maintain creative control over its products and business decisions. The company doesn’t publically disclose detailed information about its shareholders or ownership percentages, which is common for privately hold companies.

Corporate relocation and current headquarters

While gain entertainment was found in ruRussiathe company has since relocate its headquarters. Presently, gagainntertainment is register in hungHungaryth its main office locate in budaBudapeste company besides maintain offices in several other countries, include cyprCyprustvLatviad germGermanyeate a dia distributedernational structure.

This international presence has sometimes leaded to confusion about the company’s ownership. Notwithstanding, despite its global operations, the fundamental ownership structure with the yudintsev brothers at the helm remain unchanged.

Misconceptions about ownership

Over the years, various rumors and misconceptions have circulated regardgainn entertainment’s ownership. Some of these include:

Chinese ownership claims

One common misconception is that gain isits owny cChinesecompanies or investors. This confusion may stem from partnerships ggainhas form with chiChineseblishers to distribute their games in the chiChineserket, such as their collaboration with tenTencentr publish war thunder in chiChinaonetheless, these are pubpublishedrtnerships kinda than ownership relationships.

Government connections

Another area of speculation has been about potential connections to the Russian government. No evidence support claims of government ownership or control of gain entertainment. The company has systematically mamaintainedhat it’s a private business focus on game development kinda than politics.

In fact, the company’s relocation of its headquarters to Hungary represent a move to operate in a more internationally neutral business environment.

Major products and business model

Understand gain entertainment’s business model provide additional context about its operations and ownership structure. The company has dedevelopednd publish several successful titles, with war thunder being its flagship product.

Key games develop by gain entertainment

War thunder

A free to play military vehicle combat MMO feature aircraft, ground forces, and naval vessels
Crosscut

A post apocalyptic vehicle combat game
Cursed: f.o.a.d.

(erstwhile cuisine rRoyal)) attle royalRoyal
Star conflict

A space action MMO
Enlisted

A squad base ww2 first-person shooter

Most of gain’s games operate on a free to play model with microtransactions, which has prproveduccessful for the company. This business approach has aallowegainn to maintain its independence quite than require outside investment that might dilute ownership.

Publishing activities

Beyond develop its own games, gain entertainment besides act as a publisher for titles create by other development studios. This publishing arm of the business represent another revenue stream that support the company’s independent ownership structure.

Games publish by gain include:

War conflict

Develop by GDT
Age of water

Develop by three whales studios
Xenon vs marines

Develop by banzai games

This publishing activity demonstrate how gain has exexpandedeyond scarce develop its own intellectual property, create a more diversified business while maintain its private ownership.

Financial structure and revenue

As a private company, gain entertainment does not publically disclose detailed financial information. Notwithstanding, its business model prprovidesome insights into how the company maintain its independence.

The free to play model with optional purchases has proved extremely successful for war thunder and othergainn titles. This revenue stream, combine with strategic partnerships for distribution in various markets, has aallowedthe company to grow without require major outside investment that would alter its ownership structure.

Industry analysts estimate that war thunder entirely generate substantial annual revenue, with millions of register players worldwide. This financial success has eenabledthe yudintsev brothers to maintain control of their company while expand its operations globally.

International operations and legal structure

Gain entertainment’s international presence extend beyond exactly have offices in multiple countries. The company has esestablished complex legal structure with entities register in various jurisdictions. This approach is common for international gaming companies seek to optimize their operations across different markets.

The company’s main operational headquarters in Budapest, Hungary serve as its European Union base, while other entities handle specific aspects of the business in different regions. This distributes structure helpgainn navigate the complexities of international game publishing, include regional regulations, payment processing, and localization.

Despite this complex international structure, the ultimate ownership remains with the found yudintsev brothers.

Community interaction and transparency

Gain entertainment maintain active communication with its player community, especially through forums, social media, and live streams. Yet, as is common with privately hold companies, they tend to be less transparent about business and ownership details than publically trade corporations.

The company’s representatives have occasionally addressed ownership questions in community forums, systematically maintain thagainin remain an independent studio own by its founders kinda than part of a larger corporate entity.

Historical development of the company

To advantageously understand gain’s current ownership, it’s helpful to look at the company’s evolution:

Early years (2002 2009 )

Gain entertainment was esestablishedn 2002 by the yudintsev brothers in Moscow. During its early years, the company work on smaller projects and contract development for other publishers, build expertise in flight simulation and vehicle physics that would belated become central to their flagship games.

Growth period (2009 2012 )

The company begin develop more ambitious titles, include birds of steel and IL 2 turmoil: birds of prey, establish their reputation for detailed military vehicle simulations. During this period, the company reremainsnder the ownership of its founders.

War thunder and expansion (2012 present )

The launch of war thunder in 2012 mark a turning point for gain entertainment. The game’s success provide the financial foundation for the company to expand internationally while maintain its independent ownership structure. This period see the company relocate its headquarters to huHungarynd establish its current multinational presence.

Industry position and partnerships

Gain entertainment has esestablishedtself as a significant player in the free to play gaming market. While not axerophthol large as game giants like Electronic Arts or Activision blizzard, it’s carve out a successful niche in military vehicle simulation games.

The company has form various partnerships for distribution and platform support, include:

Tencent publishing partner for the Chinese market
Sony for PlayStation versions of their games
Microsoft for Xbox versions of their games

These are business partnerships kinda than ownership relationships, allow gain to expand its reach while maintain its independent status.

Future outlook and ownership stability

Will look onwards, there be no public indications that gain entertainment’s ownership structure will change in the near future. The company continue to operate under the leadership of its founders, with a focus on develop and expand its exist game franchises while launch new projects.

In an industry where acquisitions of successful independent studios are common, gain’s continued independence is slightly unusual. This susuggestshat the yudintsev brothers value their autonomy and the ability to direct their company accord to their vision quite than seek the immediate financial gains that might come from sell to a larger entity.

Conclusion

Gain entertainment remain a prprivate holdompany chiefly own by its founders, antoAnton kirikrillintsev. Despite relocate its headquarters from russiRussiaungaHungaryestablish a multinational presence, the fundamental ownership structure has not changchangede the company’s founding in 2002.

The company’s success with war thunder and other free to play titles has allowed it to maintain its independence in an industry where many successful studios are finallacquiredre by larger corporations. This privately hold status mean that detailed information about exact ownership percentages and internal corporate structure is not publically available, which is standard for private companies.

For players and fans of gain’s games, the wewell-nighelevant aspect of the company’s ownership is that it continue to operate as an independent studio with the creative freedom to develop and support its unique game offerings accord to its own vision kinda than follow the dictates of a parent corporation.