Game developer GSC Game World addresses rumors of a Stalker 2 delay and reconfirms plans to launch the game in 2023.
GSC Game World has reconfirmed its plans to release Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl in 2023 following rumors that the game has been delayed indefinitely. Stalker 2 has been in development for a while. It was officially announced in 2018 to secure a publishing deal and then in 2021 GSC Game World announced plans to release the game in 2022. The later release date was delayed, but only Since the start of the war in Ukraine, new Stalker 2 fans have questioned what the future of the game will be?
The ongoing war of Russian aggression in Ukraine has disrupted the lives of the Ukrainian people. GSC Game World is like all people in Ukraine, they cannot avoid these troubles. A dev video log shared by the team in June shows how individual developers were affected, including sharing the stories of some of the GSC Game World developers involved in defending Ukraine. . The development of Stalker 2 became less of a priority than the safety of the developers, but GSC Game World remained dedicated to the project.
The release of the developer log was accompanied by a message from GSC Game World stating that the development of the game will continue “after the victory.” The official message from Xbox will then confirm that Stalker 2’s release is now scheduled for 2023. But there are still questions regarding whether that’s accurate given the war is on. took place in Ukraine. GSC Game World has now officially confirmed that 2023 is still the studio’s plan. Stalker 2 has not been delayed further at this point.
GSC’s comment on the release of Stalker 2 comes in response to a rumor stating that the game is currently scheduled for release in 2024 or 2025. This claim was dismissed by GSC Game World as “worthless” reason” and led to a statement from the company, which said it doesn’t usually react to rumors and rumors.
On the other hand, it would be more understandable if GSC delayed development of Stalker 2 indefinitely, whether that be in 2023, 2025 or beyond. The state of war in Ukraine takes precedence over game development. On the other hand, GSC Game World still has to pay its employees, and to do so, the work needs to continue.
There is also the matter of GSC Game World’s pride in its work. Stalker 2 is a game set in Ukraine, made by Ukrainian game developers. Given the current situation, the development of Stalker 2 reflects the team’s passion for their country. Stalker 2 is much more important now than before. Stalker 2 releases in 2023 on PC and Xbox Series X/S.