STALKER 2is an upcoming survival horror shooter set in the same universe as 2007’sSTALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl. WhileSTALKER 2marks the fourth entry in the series, it is the direct sequel of the first game, promising to give old and new fans a fresh experience in the post-apocalyptic wastelands of its setting.Development forSTALKER 2hit quite the bumpearlier this year, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine causing developer GSC Game World to announce that work on the game would be paused.
GSC Game World was then forced to leave its home country of Ukraine following the war. In an effort to avoid the invasion, theSTALKER 2developer set up in the Czech Republic, hoping to relocate so that work could continue at a later date. While GSC Game World had initially stated that it would not resume development onSTALKER 2until a Ukrainian victory was announced, the developer may have decided that with the war continuing, it may want to continue the creative work on its game.
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According to recent reports, GSC Game World has informed fans that development onSTALKER 2is continuing via its official discord. While it is great news to fans that work on the game won’t be paused indefinitely, some are wondering how much this delay has affected the work on the game. It is possible now thatSTALKER 2could join otherbig releases likeStarfieldandRedfallin being pushed to 2023despite a planned 2022 launch.
However, there has been no official statement on releasingSTALKER 2from GSC Game World as of the time of writing, meaning that fans can only speculate on when they could be seeing the game. It’s clear that GSC Game World has put the safety of its employees and their families first considering the unprecedented situation they found themselves in. The company has also been supporting its home country of Ukraine where possible, bychanging the subtitle ofSTALKER 2to reflect the Ukrainian spelling of Chornobyl, for example.
This is not the only occasion where the Ukraine invasion has put somewhat of a hold on games development. Thedelay ofThe Witcher 3’snext-gen versionsreportedly had been caused by the war in Europe. However, as well as seeing delays because of the invasion, gaming has also seen a huge outpouring of support for Ukraine, such asFortniteraising over $100 million for those who are suffering due to the conflict.
STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobylis in development for PC and Xbox Series X/S.
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