How to throw another wrench in Stalker 2 development
Blog Andrew Joseph 19 Mar , 2025 0
this Stalker 2: The Heart of Chornobyl Frankly, the developers of GSC Game World have gone through a lot. follow Full Russian invasion in 2022about 200 developers chose to relocate to Prague, the Czech Republic, to continue working with their colleagues in Kiev. This should theoretically lead to a more peaceful development process for the group, but the fire in the Prague office threw another unexpected wrench in its plan.
The fire broke out in the server room of the Prague office in late 2023, partially wiping off one of the floors. No one was injured, but images of the accident after the damage showed scorching traces and ashes covering the ground. GSC Game World CEO Ievgen Grygorovych seems to see this situation as a disguised blessing, as he explains to us in the latest GamesPot Insider documentary.
“It actually makes us stronger because we have to experience what can happen, what looks- what we want to do not let it happen again,” he said.
However, accidents must have significant costs. In addition to destroying servers on the floor, the developer's work computer was also destroyed.
“Rebuilding this game again is another challenge,” said Yevhen Bazarov, chief community manager. “There’s one more thing we didn’t expect.”
While he is able to laugh at the incident now, film artist Ingwar Dovgoteles is working on a documentary job in the film industry for about three days. He finished it late at night in the fire. About 15 minutes after he got home, he received a call from the office saying that everything he worked had disappeared.
“All my job is there,” Dovgoteles added. “(Complete) completed all of these documents in three days. It was just a waste.”
Fortunately for the GSC gaming world, despite another setback, Stalker 2 was finally released at the end of 2024, one of our draft picks Best Games of 2024. Regarding how the studio continues to play the game as its home is invaded by Russian troops, you can watch the whole Gamespot Insider The episode above.