The official reasoning is the usual: GSC Game World, a Ukrainian studio behind the development, is siding with the Ukrainians.
XGP, a Polish site, discovered what the Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported: the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation has banned the official website of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2, where the studio asks visitors to support Ukraine against the Russian invaders (it’s a war, while the official Russian stance calls it a “special military operation”…). Indeed, there is a banner on the site where GSC Game World (which stopped its Russian presence in March) encourages support for Ukraine.
In early March, we wrote the following: “”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.”
Meanwhile, we also reported that the Ukrainian studio is now looking to relocate to a more peaceful but also a Slavic-speaking country: from Kyiv to Prague, the Czech capital. They won’t suddenly get a rocket as a surprise there.
Source: VGC
