Stalker 2 development is paused amid war in Ukraine
Stalker 2 has been in development for quite some time, but progress has had to take a necessary pause. The game’s developer, GSC Game World, is Ukrainian. Due to the nation’s current circumstances, game development is, understandably, not a priority. Development of the game is actually based in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. So the safety of the people working on the title is of the utmost importance, hence the temporary break from forward progress. It is, of course, entirely unclear as to when development will be able to continue, as Ukraine is under attack by Russia.
The hiatus was announced today alongside a video published onto YouTube by GSC Game World. The video was initially planned as an update for fans of the game to be able to get a glimpse of how the motion capture system would work. For the first 30 seconds, this footage is shown, with actors wearing motion-capture suits and pointing prop firearms at one another.
But the video then cuts to recent footage showing the results of Russia’s invasive war efforts. The video goes on, with GSC saying that it’s “striving to help our employees and families survive,” before explaining that development will continue “after the victory.”
Stalker 2 was initially announced back in 2010 for a 2012 release. However, due to layoffs, GSC found its staff reduced by 75% and development of Stalker 2 was paused. After an initially successful, albeit canceled, Kickstarter for a spiritual successor, development restarted in 2018 using Unreal Engine 4. Development remained quiet for a few years prior to the game’s showing at E3 in 2021, which announced an April 2022 launch date. However, a delay was announced back in January pushing the release to December of this year.
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