According to a statement issued by GSC Game World on Sunday, the Ukraine-based creator of STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl has been compromised. An unidentified user on the Russian social media platform VK has claimed credit for the hack, threatening to reveal art and narrative details for the forthcoming game if its demands are not met by March 15. GSC verified the breach on social media and stated that it would not be deterred.
“This isn’t the first time someone has tried to access and disclose our data, including confidential information,” the developer said on Twitter. “We’ve gone through a lot. These difficulties, however, motivate us to work even harder because we think that the truth is on our side. “Evil will never triumph.”
Hackers claim to have obtained 30 gigabytes of data, including concept art, landscape art, and maps, as well as in-game images and sequences that disclose the game’s plot. The demands include a change in the company’s approach towards Russian and Belarussian fans, the unbanning of a particular user on the game’s official Discord channel, and an official Russian-language localization for the game (STALKER 2 will feature English and Ukrainian voiceover, and Russian-language subtitles). GSC Game World developers inform Polygon that none of those requests will be met.
A member of the Russian social network VK claims to have game assets. According to a Google-translated version of their post, the user will reveal plot information, sequences, maps, and other game content if GSC Game World does not fulfill their requests by March 15th. The user requests that GSC Game World apologize to Belarus and Russian users, unban an account from the game’s Discord and translate S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 into Russian. (According to the game’s Steam website, the game will only have voiced music in English and Ukrainian, but it will have Russian subtitles.) GSC Game World will not be able to fulfill those expectations, according to Polygon.
The Russia-Ukraine conflict has had a major impact on GSC Game World, with some developers relocating to Prague and the business frequently tweeting about its pride in the nation. “Our unwavering dedication to helping our nation remains unchanged — we will continue to do everything in our power to support Ukraine,” GSC Game World said in a statement issued on Sunday. “And this will not alter under any conditions in the future.” The business is urging players not to view or spread leaked game details.
GSC Game World informed PC Gamer in September that S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 would be released in 2023. The release date for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 on Steam is December 2023.
