Belarus-based studio Wargaming, best known for its World of Tanks MMO, announced a surprise acquisition today: it has bought F.E.A.R. 3 developer Day 1 Studios.

Although Wargaming.net is known for its real-time strategy games and free-to-play online titles, all released for Windows PC, this acquisition will see it branch out into console games for the first time.

"The move into console game development is a huge step for Wargaming, as we begin to expand our presence into new platforms," Victor Kislyi, CEO of Wargaming, noted. "We are looking forward to sharing the fruits of our labor soon."

Notably, Wargaming paid $20 million for the Chicago-based Day 1 Studios. The latter has been working on mech game Reign of Thunder, although it suffered major layoffs at the end of 2011 as a result of losing a publishing deal with Japanese game company Konami.

Wargaming says that Day 1 is now working on "an unannounced console title," although it did not state what the future held for Reign of Thunder. Day 1 Studios will soon be integrated into Wargaming, with the name Wargaming West.