Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has been ravaging the country for nearly a year now, and developer GSC Game World recently spoke about how it affected the development of the upcoming Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl.
In an interview with Wired revealed the studio behind the game that it was incredibly tough to work while trying to find safety and escape the Russian invasion. Some have remained in Kyiv to defend the capital, while others have brought their families and sought refuge in the GSC’s new headquarters, reportedly operational since October 2022.
Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl will be one of the first major expressions of Ukrainian artistry since the start of the war, and many are very curious about this. The main producer of Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl, Maria Grygorovych, says, among other things:
“It was a game about Chornobyl, which is actually located in the Kyiv region, made by a Ukrainian team before the war, and it became something incomparably bigger after the invasion started. It’s a national product now, aimed to show that Ukraine is not only exceptionally effective and brave on the battlefield, but also equally valuable in a sense of cultural legacy. Something to be shown to the world.”
She concludes by telling everyone all the members of the studio ultimately just want to go home:
“We have dreams of returning to our office in Kyiv, working as previously. Everyone wants to return home. But some people actually don’t have a place to return to. Each Ukrainian has lost something during this war because of Russia.”
There’s still no firm release date for Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl, but it’s expected to come to PC and Xbox Series S/X (as well as Game Pass) sometime in 2023, which is no small feat given the pressure GSC Game World exposed to.
