In a harrowing new video published on their main channel, GSC Game World goes into depth on the nature of developing its next big hit set in the Chernobyl exclusion zone. In its Stalker 2 dev diary, which features an image of the title shaded in the colors of the Ukrainian flag, the team discloses the hardships felt in the aftermath of Russia's invasion of their homeland.
It begins by showing select sequences in the animation studio cut after glimpses of shots taken outside depicting the popular equestrian statue of Hetman Bogdan situated at the center of Kyiv, where GSC Game calls home. Although seeping with levity in its first 20 seconds, the video no sooner cuts to Feb. 24, the day Russian President Vladimir Putin authorized "special military operations" in the country.
"War changes everything: desires, expectations, the pace of life and mindset, and even what's waking you up in the morning," the Stalker 2 dev diary's description reads. "Splits the life into "before" and "after". It makes you get used to a new reality without true safety, even at home. Some Ukrianians are forced to leave their homeland. Others have devoted themselves to volunteering or defending the country with arms."
The video shows the devastating effects of the war wrought by Russian forces not a mere 0.9 miles away from the GSC office in Kyiv. The team filmed some of their departure from the area, including one rather depressing shot of a team member revealing the aftermath of the hasty move, calling it a place where they "generated and created ideas" until Russia attacked Ukraine.
While most of the GSC staff left Kyiv, the Stalker 2 dev diary notes that "not all employees were able to leave." Those who stayed were in a state of perpetual hardship, as evidenced by one team member's cat dying "in the shelling in the first week of the war." Others are left to work remotely in the midst of constant air raid sirens blaring in the background. One developer, GSC Game World community, lead Maksym Tkachenko, shows off his bathroom, referring to it as "my office space now."
"It's not easy to write violent quests when there's a war outside your window," explains Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl narrative designer Dariia Tsepkova.
Despite these various difficulties, GSC Game World not only powers on in its pursuit to deliver a new iteration in the Stalker franchise but also in its devotion to its homeland. The video shows how some of the developers are performing volunteer work, as well as even fighting among the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The studio's lead AI developer, Dmytro Iassenev, is one such individual who is filmed in the Stalker 2 dev diary at the helm of a .50 caliber machine gun. One of the game's own narrative designers, Maksym Hnatkov, said that "After our victory I'll return to the game."
The news of Stalker 2 delayed into 2023 is a depressing one for fans but is understandable. The game was first announced back in 2010, set for a 2012 release date until it was canceled. Jump cut to May 2018, and fans were surprised to find that Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl would go back into active development, slated for a 2021 debut that would clearly be rescinded due largely to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Alongside its dev diary, GSC Game World likewise published some Stalker 2 gameplay amid the Xbox Games Showcase Extended event and a trailer titled "Enter the Zone." The latter video shows a military transport vehicle on a short drive into an area in the far distance, which is laden with an orange-hued sky pockmarked by lightning and clouds. It's a bit of a callback to the original intro to 2007's Shadow of Chernobyl, the first game in the series. The truck seemingly loses control, and just before it may crash, the video cuts to the title screen of Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl, before ending on the new anomalies plaguing the Zone.
