GSC Game World released a 90-minute documentary about S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 development while the war rages…

Thousands of fans are waiting for news about S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2, the post-apocalyptic shooter that was supposed to be released in 2022. However, due to a series of delays, GSC Game World postponed the release of the title. One such “delay” was Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a war that began in February 2022 and is still not over. As a chronicle of this process, the creators of the title, in collaboration with Xbox, narrated what they have been through since then in a documentary.

Although S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 developers managed to get out of Ukraine more than two years ago, some studio members told us what this process was like.

Kyiv was repeatedly bombed, and those who could move to Prague, Czech Republic, while some joined the army to fight against Russia. This situation was extremely difficult. As Alina, one of the developers, tells us, they thought the end had come.

“Subconsciously, we were all ready to die,” he says. According to PC Gamer, another developer says: “I remember the alarm we heard in Kyiv” because “it was quite a scary feeling. The creepiest thing was knowing that your life would depend on this sound.” Mariia Grygorovych “I thought that Putin wouldn’t want to start a war with NATO. Which meant there shouldn’t be missiles [landing] within 50km of a NATO border.” Therefore, in January, they “booked buses back in January that were parked outside the offices 24/7.” Moreover, “Initially, we didn’t tell the team about these buses. Because we didn’t want to scare people.”

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 became “an element of resistance” during the war

Grygorovych says that “the game, for us, is now an element of resistance”, although he admits that “we had to rearrange everything from scratch”. Proof of this is that the voice actor cast was replaced due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Remember that S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 will be released on November 20, 2024, for PC, Xbox Series X/S, and Game Pass (on release date). It’s still too early to say if the FPS will be delayed again, but we already know important details such as how long it will last and that up to two story DLCs will be released after the release.

Source: YouTube, PC Gamer