‘Stalker 2’ developer GSC Game World is reportedly leaving Ukraine

nme.com:

GSC Game World, the developer of Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl, may be moving away from Ukraine following news that Russia’s invasion had brought work on the game to a halt.According to a report by Czech news site Vortex, GSC Game World is relocating the studio’s team to somewhere in the Czech Republic.The site claims that GSC Game World is already in the process of filing applications to set up business in the Czech Republic.

According to journalist Pavel Dobrovsky, the move will include “everyone” working at the studio.Pavel Barák – chairman of the Czech Game Developers Association – has also commented on the move:“I can confirm that the GSC studio approached the Association at the beginning of last week, saying that they are looking at the Czech Republic and neighbouring countries.

They needed help from us regarding legal and employment matters,” said Barák.Barák added that the Czech Game Developers Association aims to “help studios and individuals who are fleeing the war and would like to continue working in the gaming industry.”So far, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has internally displaced 6.5million people, and the developers at GSC Game World have not been immune to the effects of war.On the day Russia invaded Ukraine, GSC Game World asked the games industry to “help those in need“.

Shortly afterward, the Kyiv-based studio shared that development of Stalker 2 would be “shifted to the sidelines” until the conflict with Russia ends.Last week (March 14), GSC Game World further announced that it would be cancelling pre-orders and sales of Stalker 2 in Russia, and also changed Stalker 2‘s subtitle to Heart Of Chornobyl to reflect the area’s spelling in Ukrainian.