S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 : Heart of Chornobylhas been a tenacious time come . Not only have fan been waiting for a follow - up toS.T.A.L.K.E.R. : Shadow of Chernobylsince 2007 but an unexpected event further delayed developer GSC Game World ’s program : Russia ’s invasion of Ukraine .
TheKyiv , Ukraine - based developers have been transparenton societal medium about all the fierceness and cosmos - upending situation that have induce the game to be stay out of its original 2022 release window . Their story has since been compiled intoWar Game : The qualification of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 , a 97 - moment documentary about conflict , war , and determination that ’s now uncommitted on YouTube . you may see it above .
The infotainment starts out with a chronicle of the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series and the studio , but then transitions into how the war afffected both development and the lives of the team extremity . At first they did n’t think Russian President Vladimir Putin would go so far as to attack Ukraine , but CEO Ievgen Grygorovych and his wife , executive manufacturer Mariia Grygorovych , made plans to empty team members on buses to Uzhhorod , a Ithiel Town in western Ukraine within 50 kilometre of a theoretically inviolable NATO delimitation . Buses were booked and parked outside the power with drivers 24/7 , ready to transport employees , their syndicate , and some former staff to proportional guard .
Mariia said they did n’t tell the team at first about the buses to not cause a terror . “ I doubted myself and wonder if I had n’t lost my nous , ” she enjoin in the documentary . The team had had very different thoughts about what they would do in the event of an invasion . Some knew they would be staying to volunteer and join the armed forces , and many just want to keep working on the plot .
In amount , the squad transported 183 employees , their sept , and former faculty and determine up stays in a hotel . The other 139 wane and stayed in Kyiv . In February 2022 , the squad were all called into the billet on a Sunday at 6 a.m. While Russia had n’t formally attacked Ukraine yet , they all pack up essentials , wrangled their family members ( including kid ) , dropped off pets , and went to Uzhhorod for a stay at a hotel .
Not too long after the excreting , Russia launched its attempt on Kyiv , which was way penny-pinching than they foreknow . One developer in Kyiv said he was set to go and get his new-sprung kid ’s pass paperwork when the attack start . Another said he felt like a “ traitor ” because his mother refuse to leave . “ Subconsciously , we were all ready to decease , ” one developer named Alina say .
Mariia and Ievgen took people uncoerced to evacuate to nearby Hungary from the hotel , while others stay to fight , but that was easier said than done . The boundary line was only open until 6 p.m. , so much of the squad had to travel by animal foot through the Ukrainian winter weather to cross .
Digital Trends has since play aS.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2preview , and by all accounts , it seems like it ’ll beworth the wait .
