Stalker 2 Development Paused Due to Ukraine War

March 2, 2022, 5:31pm

Stalker 2 developer GSC Game World has revealed that it is halting the development of the long-awaited sequel as a result of the current war in Ukraine. Within the past week, the Ukraine-based studio acknowledged that its future was “unknown” after Russia invaded its neighboring nation. Now, GSC Game World has released a new video to inform fans that work on Stalker 2 has been placed on hold for the time being.

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Posted to the GSC Game World YouTube channel today, the video in question shared some behind-the-scenes footage from the development of Stalker 2 that the studio said it was planning to release soon. However, in light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, these plans were quickly changed.

“On the 24th of February, Russia declared war on Ukraine and sent rockets, tanks, and soldiers to our homeland. Our country is forced to fight for existence again. Seems like this is the price of freedom,” said the company’s statement in the video. “Now we are striving to help our employees and their families to survive. The game development shifted to the sidelines. But we will definitely continue. After the victory. Glory to Ukraine.”

«Gameplay when?» is no longer the most common question. Now we hear «Are you guys okay?» more and more.https://t.co/E6yyzTwwSd
— S.T.A.L.K.E.R. OFFICIAL (@stalker_thegame) March 2, 2022

Stalker 2: Heart of Chernobyl was originally slated to release in the early portion of 2022 and is a sequel that has been awaited by many fans for the better part of the past 15 years. Earlier this year, GSC Game World announced that the project was being pushed back to December 2022 to allow for more development time that would further polish the experience. At this point in time, it seems like this release date for Stalker 2 will no longer be met, but that’s obviously the last thing that anyone should be worried about.

For those that are looking to help out in some small way with the war in Ukraine, GSC Game World has encouraged people to give contributions to the International Charitable Foundation. This fund will help support the Armed Forces of Ukraine in their current conflict with Russia. More information can be found on this aid right here if you’re interested.