S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl / GSC Game World
GameSpot and the Ukrainian studio GSC Game World released a documentary about the final months of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl despite the war.
The Ukrainian studio managed to survive evacuation, shelling, and even a fire, but did not stop. The team decided to share what trials they had to go through.
On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, forcing hundreds of employees to make difficult decisions: to evacuate or stay in Kyiv, where missiles were already falling. GSC Game World was divided. Approximately 200 developers went abroad to set up a new office, while another 230 people decided to stay in Kyiv.
«I didn’t want to go. I would not have forgiven myself. I don’t know, I was angry. I was angry. At that moment, leaving was not an option, and staying was not that scary»,” says narrative designer Maksym Hnatkov.
Those who remained in Kyiv worked despite drone attacks and power outages. The creators focused on completing the project, which began long before the invasion, while the Russian military was devastating the neighborhood, executing prisoners, and killing civilians indiscriminately Other employees traveled to Prague via Budapestrecalling the experience of evacuation back in 2014.
«It is unrealistic to live in a situation where everything is on fire. We made this mistake when we were in Donetsk for three months back in 2015, because we thought everything would be fine. But we were in the center of the war in Donetsk for three months, all the time in bomb shelters»,” recalls Yevhen Bazarov, the community’s general manager.
But even in the new office GSC Game World had to survive a firewhich jeopardized the final stages of development. As a result of the fire, one of the three floors occupied by GSC was severely damaged and required «full restoration».
Despite the war, evacuation, team splits, and even a fire, GSC Game World released Stalker 2 in late 2024. This is not just a game, but a project created in the most difficult conditions imaginable.
«This is the future, and the future is now», — says one of the developers.
Previous a documentary about GSC Game World was released by Xbox. It focused on the personal stories of creative director Maria Grygorovych and her team working in the war.
The creators don’t want S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 to be their last project, so GSC Game World announced thatwant to make more games. In the meantime, their creation has found a response among fans of the series, as the game has recently attracted up to 6 million players, although earlier they talked about 90% drop in online presence in the game. Fans are waiting for more patches, bug fixes, and some new content. Therefore, the developers hint at an unexpected look at the upcoming DLC. We will see what it will be like in reality, but for now we are evaluating the documentary.
Source: Game Spot