‘Stalker 2’ is reportedly back in development after Ukraine invasion forced studio to relocate

 

GSC Game World has reportedly resumed work on Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine forced the studio to pause development. On March 2nd, the Kyiv-based developer announced it was putting the game on hold while it worked to help its employees and their families “survive” the conflict. According to reports from Czech media, the studio relocated its staff to Prague that same month.

Now it would appear the game is back on track. Responding to a question from a member of Stalker 2’s Discord community asking if development had resumed, a GSC Game World employee said, “it continues,” in a message spotted by Polish gaming outlet GRYOnline. We’ve reached out to the studio for confirmation.

Following a delay at the start of the year, GSC Game World said it would release Stalker 2 on December 8th. The announcement came before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sidelined the studio. Since the war began, the company also subtly changed the game's name. Its subtitle now reads “Heart of Chornobyl” instead of “Chernobyl,” with the former reflecting the local Ukrainian spelling of the site of the 1986 nuclear disaster.