From Star Trek to Megadeth: Inside World of Warships’ surprising collaborations

The ocean of content within World of Warships is deeper and wider than you might expect.

Sure, developer Wargaming’s naval battle-based online shooter is full of realism. Its digital shipyards are filled with battleships and aircraft carriers and submarines meticulously modeled after the arsenals of real-world armed forces, from Asia to Europe to North America. Players have been battling each other on the virtual seas since the game’s release in 2015.

But you probably didn’t see the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles coming. Or Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the U.S.S. Enterprise. How about Popeye and Bluto? And yet collaborations like that have been part of World of Warships for just about as long as the game has been around.

From the outside, it's always looked like Wargaming is having fun, allowing itself to consistently add hints of whimsy into its high-seas shooter—and it seems like players are having fun with this offbeat content too.

That’s why we got in touch with World of Warships’ creators—to find out why they’re doing what they’re doing, how they figure out that something like Megadeth is a good fit for an ostensibly realistic game (not to mention how players devoted to realism feel about it), and how this whole endeavor got started.

It began in Tokyo circa 2015, at the launch of World of Warships. According to Aleksandr Nikolaev, Senior Licensing Manager at Wargaming, the idea was to create content that would appeal specifically to players in the Asia–Pacific region, even beyond the Japanese warships available at launch.

Enter the popular manga Arpeggio of Blue Steel, which revolves around AI-powered warships with human-like personalities. There was a natural—if not realistic—fit, and Arpeggio of Blue Steel became the first outside property integrated into World of Warships.

That integration didn’t just work in the way Wargaming intended. It worked better, and quickly spread much further than Japan.

“What we didn’t expect is the strong desire from otakus in other regions to get their hands on the same content,” Nikolaev told the Epic Games Store. “No problems—we made it happen.”

It also led to a light dusting of grumbling, at least from certain players. Wargaming came up with a creative solution to satisfy both players dedicated to realism and those keen on some whimsy.

“Players divided into those who wanted us to remove any non-historical content and those voting for IPs they would like to see in our game,” said Nikolaev. “We decided 'Why not both?' We first implemented a ‘historical’ filter in the game's settings that allowed the first group to turn off non-historical visuals. Then we started exploring IP integration opportunities, catering to the second group.”

The brand integrations are a playful departure from the realism at the core of World of Warships. And while some players who preferred historical realism were worried they might get left out to dry, Wargaming always strove to satisfy both audiences with options like the historical filter, ensuring Krang and Shredder never get their sea legs.

“Eventually, these concerns were alleviated as the core community saw our consistent commitment to history and no pressure to engage with or purchase any non-historical cosmetics,” said Nikolaev.

That “commitment to history” informed World of Warships' initial creation, and continues to inform the game’s expansion, including collaborations with non-historical properties. The tie-ins tend to be aimed more at new players, with the goal of potentially “converting them into history buffs,” according to Nikolaev.

“Those players might not be fans of history initially, but our intention is to first engage those players in naval combat gameplay with the help of their favorite characters and then get them gradually invested in exploring historical aspects of World of Warships,” said Nikolaev.

So what’s the process for turning a pop culture property into a warship? After coming up with ideas that seem like a good fit, Wargaming then has to approach and convince, say, Megadeth that being in World of Warships is a good idea for everyone involved.

“Most IP owners want to ensure that the integration respects their IP, addresses any cultural sensitivities, and meets the expectations of their fans,” he said.

And that begins a period of collaboration where they choose characters, vehicles, and other bits to prioritize. Wargaming creates the assets, works with the rightsholder to make any changes, and when everybody’s happy, Godzilla and King Kong sail the high seas.

That specific collaboration is a great example of how these things can please the IP owner, the Wargaming team, and players alike—and it actually started outside of World of Warships.

“Legendary Entertainment, our partner, was looking for ways to promote the upcoming movie [Godzilla vs. Kong] to gamers, and identified World of Warships as a great fit,” Nikolaev said. “First, for our global footprint, and second for the creative potential. There are few games with enough virtual space for full-sized titans as big as Godzilla or Kong!"

“Additionally, the naval combat and vehicles were featured in the movie, so integrating those naval scenes into our game would feel organic and valuable for fans looking to experience both characters interactively. From our side, we wanted to invite all those kaiju fans to play World of Warships and not only experience huge titans but also appreciate our own behemoths like Yamato and earn Kraken achievements for five destroyed enemy warships in one battle!”

World of Warships’ collaborations have been all over the nautical chart, and you can thank the game’s existing players for a lot of the diversity, too. Both the Megadeth and the Star Trek collaborations were born from Wargaming identifying existing player interests.

“Listening to music and watching TV shows are among the top-ranked passions of our players besides playing games,” he said. “Our players prefer the heavy metal genre for music and the science fiction genre for TV shows. Also, both Megadeth and Star Trek are IPs with worldwide fandom that we can reach and introduce to a video game with a huge global community of like-minded people.”

After nearly a decade of collaboration, Wargaming is still learning, still planning for the unknown and still trying to surprise players—while planning on being surprised themselves.

“The biggest lesson I’ve learned is that you always need to be prepared for the unexpected. While an IP may seem straightforward from a distance, things can become more complex as we approach the finish line," said Nikolaev.

"Even with a solid playbook, there’s no universal guide that fits every partnership," he continued. "Each collaboration brings its own unique requirements, whether it’s ownership of various IP elements, approval processes, or production challenges that arise along the way. Finding partners who share our passion is invaluable for every business relationship—and fortunately, we’ve been lucky in that regard so far.”

World of Warships is a unique experience, for sure. You can wage war on the high seas in a period-accurate battle carrier—or you might board a warship and find Donatello, Leonardo, Michelangelo and Raphiel aboard. Or maybe Admiral Janeway or the Borg Queen. Today, as it has been for nearly 10 years, the choice is yours.

And maybe, just maybe, if Aleksandr Nikolaev’s wishes come true, World of Warships might one day partner up with another well-known video game property.

“My dream collaboration for World of Warships is with the StarCraft franchise from Blizzard Entertainment," said Nikolaev. As a fan of both franchises, I believe it would be a great experience to go into battle in the Terran’s Battlecruiser skin with a commander voiceover from Chris Metzen himself. Sending my greetings and regards to our colleagues from the StarCraft team!"

World of Warships is available to download and play for free in the Epic Games Store.