Software:S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chernobyl

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Short description: Upcoming first-person shooter game
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chernobyl
STALKER 2 cover art.jpg
Developer(s)GSC Game World
Publisher(s)GSC Game World
SeriesS.T.A.L.K.E.R.
EngineUnreal Engine 5
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows
Xbox Series X/S
ReleaseApril 28, 2022[1]
Genre(s)Survival horror, First-person shooter, Immersive sim
Mode(s)Single-player

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chernobyl is an upcoming first-person shooter survival horror video game developed by Ukraine -based developer GSC Game World for Microsoft Windows and the Xbox Series X/S. It will be the fourth game released in the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. video game series, the first game in the series released on consoles, as well as the first S.T.A.L.K.E.R. game in 13 years since the release of Call of Pripyat in 2009. The game is set to be released in April 2022.

Initially announced following the release of Call of Pripyat, it was initially planned to have released in 2012, before it was ultimately cancelled on the year of its intended release.[2][3] The game resurfaced years later in 2018, with the development restarted and powered by the Unreal Engine 5, with a new release date in 2022.

Development

Early development

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 was initially announced in 2010, with a release date set in 2012, by Sergei Grigorovich, CEO of GSC Game World, stating "After the official sales of the series exceeded 4 million copies worldwide, we had no doubts left to start creating a new big game in the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. universe. This will be the next chapter of the mega-popular game players expect from us." The development of the game was ambitious; it was stated that the game would feature an all-new multiplatform engine, made from scratch to fit S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2.

During development, numerous layoffs and overall attrition through the development of the game had shrunk GSC's employee count by 75%. Two years in, Grigorovich had announced the immediate cessation of all development due to "personal reasons", likely as a result of financial difficulty.[4] GSC Game World was officially dissolved on December 9, 2011.[5] The official Twitter account posted "We will do our best to continue. However, at this moment, nothing is certain."[6] After several months of uncertainty,[7] an update was posted that the development would continue after the holidays, although it would require funding.[8] However, the cancellation of this build of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 had been formally announced in April 2012 on the company's Facebook page,[9] officially stated to have resulted from dispute between investors, staff, and the original IP rights owner.[10]

West Games scandal

West Games, a studio founded by former GSC lead developer Eugene Kim,[11] had launched a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign for a spiritual successor to the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. franchise in June 2014, under the title "Areal".[12] However, this drew widespread criticism and was described as a scam, with its trailer entirely composed of footage from the original S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games as well as purported screenshots from its development being revealed as modified assets from the Unity engine's "asset store", which West Games claimed was "media-fabricated".[13] The project drew $65,000 in Kickstarter funds, 15 thousand dollars over its original goal of $50,000, however it was permanently suspended by Kickstarter in July, citing guideline violations.[14] After cancellation though, West Games had at first claimed to have switched to private funding on their website to fund the project, they announced another crowdfunding campaign on the Wfunder platform in December 2014, setting a much larger goal of $600,000 to produce a new game called S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Apocalypse.[15]

Survarium

Main page: Software:Survarium

Following cancellation, the former team for the original build of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 opened a new studio, Vostok Games, to create the free-to-play MMO Survarium.[16] Accomplished via venture capital, this project was largely built in the spirit of the original S.T.A.L.K.E.R. franchise, using ideas they created for the cancelled original build of the sequel.[17]

Revival

After years of dormancy, GSC Game World was officially reformed in December 2014 to develop Cossacks 3. Four years later, on said game's Facebook page, development of a new S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 was announced, linking to www.stalker2.com, the game's website.[18] It was later revealed that the game would be developed using Unreal Engine 4.[19] This build of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 was announced exceptionally early into development, with it still being in the "design doc phase".[20] Grigorovich later stated on a podcast that the intent of the project's announcement in 2018 was largely to generate hype, in order to strike a publishing deal at E3 2018.[21]

Little information was given regarding the project until E3 2021, where a full gameplay trailer was shown at the Microsoft/Bethesda press conference. The release date was rescheduled to April 28, 2022.[1] In August 2021, the developers revealed that the game was updated to Unreal Engine 5.[22]

Release

The game is slated to be on Xbox Game Pass at launch.[23] In addition, the game was stated by GSC Game World to be planned as a Microsoft-exclusive release, only releasing on Microsoft Windows and the Xbox Series X/S.[24] This exclusivity, however, is only slated to be for three months following its release as evidenced from leaked documents as a part of Epic Games v. Apple.[25][26][27]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Barbosa, Alessadro (June 13, 2021). "Stalker 2: Heart of Chernobyl Launches In April 2022, On Xbox Games Pass At Launch". https://www.gamespot.com/articles/stalker-2-heart-of-chernobyl-launches-in-april-2022-on-xbox-games-pass-at-launch/1100-6492799/. 
  2. ↑ "S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 studio facing uncertain future". GameSpot. 12 December 2011. http://www.gamespot.com/news/stalker-2-studio-facing-uncertain-future-6347437. 
  3. ↑ "S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 canceled". GameSpot. 2012-04-25. https://www.gamespot.com/articles/stalker-2-canceled/1100-6373393/. 
  4. ↑ "Киевская компания, создавшая игры S.T.A.L.K.E.R. и "Казаки", решила самоликвидироваться" (in ru). 2011-12-09. https://ukranews.com/news/121316-kyevskaya-kompanyya-sozdavshaya-ygry-stalker-y-kazaky-reshyla-samolykvydyrovatsya. 
  5. ↑ Hall, Charlie (2013-09-08). "Stalker fallout: Polygon traces the exodus from Kiev's legendary GSC Game World" (in en). https://www.polygon.com/features/2013/9/8/4568598/stalker-fallout-gsc-game-world. 
  6. ↑ "We will do our best to continue. However, at this moment, nothing is certain." (in en). https://twitter.com/survariumvg/status/146255840310071296. 
  7. ↑ "S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 studio facing uncertain future" (in en-US). https://www.gamespot.com/articles/stalker-2-studio-facing-uncertain-future/1100-6347437/. 
  8. ↑ "S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 presses on, but studio needs cash - Report" (in en-US). https://www.gamespot.com/articles/stalker-2-presses-on-but-studio-needs-cash-report/1100-6348608/. 
  9. ↑ "S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 canceled" (in en-US). https://www.gamespot.com/articles/stalker-2-canceled/1100-6373393/. 
  10. ↑ "The reason we cannot continue..." (in en). https://www.facebook.com/login/?next=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fofficialstalker%2Fposts%2F436937749665479. 
  11. ↑ Senior, Tom (2012-06-01). "Rumour: Ex-STALKER devs form Union Studio, developing Fallout/Rage inspired shooter" (in en-US). https://www.pcgamer.com/rumour-ex-stalker-devs-form-union-studio-developing-falloutrage-inspired-shooter/. 
  12. ↑ Tach, Dave (2014-06-24). "STALKER devs working on survival horror spiritual successor Areal" (in en). https://www.polygon.com/2014/6/24/5838800/areal-stalker-kickstarter. 
  13. ↑ "UPDATE: S.T.A.L.K.E.R successor scandal is media-fabricated, dev claims" (in en-US). 2014-07-02. https://www.vg247.com/2014/07/02/s-t-a-l-k-e-r-2-areal-vostock-sparks-legal-and-fraud-threats/. 
  14. ↑ McWhertor, Michael (2014-07-22). "Kickstarter suspends Ex-STALKER devs' Areal campaign, West Games turns to direct funding" (in en). https://www.polygon.com/2014/7/22/5927175/areal-kickstarter-suspended-stalker-west-games. 
  15. ↑ Hall, Charlie (2014-12-12). "After having its Kickstarter canceled, STALKER sequel goes back to the well" (in en). https://www.polygon.com/2014/12/12/7382787/stalker-apocalypse-kickstarter. 
  16. ↑ Purchese, Robert (2012-04-26). "Former STALKER team will develop Survarium openly with community" (in en). https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-04-26-former-stalker-team-will-develop-survarium-openly-with-community. 
  17. ↑ "STALKER 2 Gets Cancelled, Developers Open New Studio". Cinemablend.com. 2012-04-25. http://www.cinemablend.com/games/STALKER-2-Gets-Cancelled-Developers-Open-Studio-41801.html. 
  18. ↑ "Facebook". https://www.facebook.com/cossacks3/posts/2053522958254369. 
  19. ↑ Hall, Charlie (2018-05-15). "STALKER 2 announced, scheduled for 2021 release" (in en). https://www.polygon.com/2018/5/15/17358508/stalker-2-announced-gsc-game-world. 
  20. ↑ "STALKER 2 was only announced so the devs could find a publisher" (in en-GB). https://www.pcgamesn.com/stalker-2/stalker-2-publisher. 
  21. ↑ "Как Делают Игры 222. Отвечаем на вопросы". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uw-kzRGRgGw. 
  22. ↑ Birch, Nathan (August 11, 2021). "STALKER 2 is Running on Unreal Engine 5 Confirms GSC Game World". https://wccftech.com/stalker-2-unreal-engine-5/. 
  23. ↑ "Stalker 2: Heart of Chernobyl Launches In April 2022, On Xbox Games Pass At Launch" (in en-US). https://www.gamespot.com/articles/stalker-2-heart-of-chernobyl-launches-in-april-2022-on-xbox-games-pass-at-launch/1100-6492799/. 
  24. ↑ "S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 On PS5 Not Planned, Developer Talks Xbox Exclusivity" (in en-US). 2021-04-30. https://screenrant.com/stalker-2-ps5-not-planned-xbox-exclusivity/. 
  25. ↑ "S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 Could Come to PS5 Three Months After Release" (in en-GB). 2021-05-02. https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2021/05/s_t_a_l_k_e_r_2_could_come_to_ps5_three_months_after_release. 
  26. ↑ "Is Stalker 2 Coming To PS5?" (in en-US). 2021-05-28. https://culturedvultures.com/stalker-2-ps5-ps4/. 
  27. ↑ "S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 Exclusive to Xbox for Just Three Months". 2021-05-03. https://www.playstationlifestyle.net/2021/05/03/stalker-2-ps5/. 

External links




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