GSC Game World has now abandoned S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2’s development. At the same time, the Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister (who is also the Minister of Digital Transformation) has suggested that Sony and Microsoft should pull out of the Russian market.
Let’s not forget that GSC Game World is a Ukrainian team with headquarters in Kyiv. So they are right there in the middle of the war, so it is no wonder that the studio has written that they are not working on S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: “The previous week, we were editing the video about our motion capture studio. We wanted to show how our cutscenes were created. [We took the] time to watch videos, write scripts, and speak with actors. The previous week was ages ago.
On February 24, Russia declared war on Ukraine and sent rockets, tanks, and soldiers to our homeland. Our country is forced to fight for existence again. It seems like this is the price of freedom. This video is our answer to [the] “How are you guys?” question. Now we are striving to help our employees, and their families survive. The game development has shifted to the sidelines, but we will continue… after the victory. Glory to Ukraine,” the studio wrote. (And since many Ukrainians are confident in victory, it’s no wonder GSC is optimistic). The game is coming to Xbox Series and PC on December 8, but who knows… there could be a delay to 2023. We’ll continue after the video.
But let’s talk about Mykhailo Fedorov, the Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation, who has sent a letter asking game developers and eSports platforms to leave the Russian market. He specifically singled out Sony and Microsoft, saying that he would be happy if Xbox and PlayStation left Russia. He wrote, “To all game development companies and esports platforms: the Russian Federation has carried out a deceptive and outrageous military attack on my country! Just imagine, in 2022, cruise missiles attack residential neighbourhoods, kindergartens, and hospitals in the heart of Europe. The armed forces and citizens are defending Ukraine till the end! The whole world is repelling the aggressor through the imposition of sanctions – the enemy must suffer significant losses. But we need your support – in 2022, modern technology is perhaps the best answer to the tanks, multiple rocket launchers, and missiles.
I am sure that you will not only hear, but also do everything possible to protect Ukraine, Europe, and, finally, the entire democratic world from bloody authoritarian aggression — and I appeal to temporarily block all Russian and Belorussian accounts, temporarily stop the participation of Russian and Belorussian teams and garners in all international esports events and cancel all international events holding on the territory of Russia and Belarus. We are sure that such actions will motivate the citizens of Russia to stop the disgraceful military aggression proactively.”
In another tweet, Fedorov also asked Riot, Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, Gameloft and Wargaming to close their Russian offices. By the way, Fedorov’s letter first went to Apple (we should note here that we appreciate that he took a photo of his stamped letter and shared it online!), which had an effect: the Tim Cook-led company stopped selling its products in Russia!
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