War, hacking, fire… One of the most anticipated Xbox exclusives seems cursed


Mallory Delicourt

September 12, 2023 at 2:30 p.m.

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stalker 2 © GSC GAMEWORLD

© GSC Game World

The GSC Game World studio, which develops STALKER 2, clearly does not have the right to a little respite after being the victim of a fire in its Czech premises. Fortunately, no one was injured, but the damage was significant.

These are estimated at more than 60,000 euros.

A destructive fire with unclear consequences

The Ukrainian studio GSC Game World, already very affected by the war, went to set up its premises in the Czech Republic in the hope of finding a little security there and continuing the development of the highly anticipated STALKER 2. Unfortunately, just a few days ago, a fire broke out in the premises, ravaging the floor where the project’s backup servers were located.

The floor will have to be rebuilt, and the damage is estimated at around 61,000 euros. In all likelihood, an electrical fault was the cause of the fire, which for the moment excludes the possibility of a malicious act. Nothing to discourage the teams, no one having been injured.

On Discord, a representative said that nothing will stop the studio from achieving its goals, that everyone has had much worse, and that everything will be fine. However, it is unknown whether or not the fire and destruction of the servers will cause a further delay, with the game having recently been delayed until early 2024 on Xbox Series and PC.

STALKER 2 © GSC Game World

© GSC Game World

GSC Game World, against all odds

This new incident adds to a huge list of problems, which have accumulated over the years. STALKER 2 was first announced more than 10 years ago before being put in the freezer. The studio was put on hold before reappearing in 2014, finally relaunching production of the game in 2018. This was unfortunately without taking into account Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022.

The project was immediately put on hold, the time to find a solution to keep everyone safe or to let those who wanted to go and defend the country. GSC quickly found an arrangement to move its premises and staff to Prague, where work resumed despite the circumstances.

But that wasn’t the end of the problems, since last March, the accounts of several developers were hacked by Russian hackers. The latter were able to recover a build of the game and played the blackmail card. This ploy did not at all impress studio executives, who said: “ We are a Ukrainian society, and like most Ukrainians, we have gone through many more terrifying ordeals: the destruction of our homes, wasted lives and the death of loved ones. Trying to blackmail or intimidate us is completely futile. »

While waiting to know if the fire had any consequences on the project, STALKER 2 remains scheduled for the first quarter of 2024 on PC and Xbox Series.

Source : Eurogamer



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