Ukrainian developer GSC Game World has delayed its long awaited STALKER 2: Heart of Chernobyl to 2023 from December of this year.
GSC Game World popped up in Microsoft's Xbox Extended Games Showcase on Tuesday to provide a brief update on the game's development. Russia's invasion of Ukraine has badly disrupted progress. Several staff members have taken up arms in the war, others have been forced to relocate, and still others are stuck working in dangerous locales. For the most part, the studio's central offices in Kyiv are vacant.
In the video, community lead Maksym Tkachenko shows his office space: a single room with a bathtub and a laundry machine. Narrative designer Dariia Tsepkova does the same, saying she's lived and worked for the past three months in a single corridor.
"A one-eyed dog, rescued from the shelling under Hostomel, lives with me," she says over footage of the dog at the far end of the hall.
"It's not easy to write violent quests when there's a war outside your window."
In a separate trailer premiered during the Xbox showcase, GSC offered a brief glimpse of STALKER 2 and revealed the release date had been pushed back. When it does arrive, it will hit PC and Xbox Series X|S, and will be included day one on Game Pass.
