“Stalker 2’s Devs’ Resilience Amid the Start of Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine” or “How the Creators of Stalker 2 Overcame Challenges During Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine” or “The Determination of Stalker 2’s Developers as Russia Invaded Ukraine” or “Stalker 2’s Team’s Persistence in the Face of Russia’s War on Ukraine” Let me know if you’d like further refinements!

GSC Game World went through far more harrowing events than most game developers–or people–ever will, during the development of Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl. What began as a long-awaited revival of a classic FPS series soon took on new meaning as a show of defiance against a malicious invader in 2022. On February 24, Russia–under false pretenses–launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, threatening the lives of hundreds of game developers and their families. Around 200 employees evacuated, setting up a new office in Prague, but a remarkable number chose to stay in Kyiv: roughly 230.

Though the city hasn’t been subjected to large-scale battles since the early days of the war, it has been the frequent target of deadly drone attacks, missiles, and airstrikes. Reasons for staying vary among the GSC Game World team, but their perseverance mirrors that of Ukraine itself–Russia’s strategy to charge toward the capital was thwarted near the start of the invasion, and Ukraine continues to fight back more than three years later.

“I don’t want to leave. I won’t forgive myself,” narrative designer Maksym Hnatkov told us as part of our GameSpot Insider documentary on Stalker 2’s development. “I don’t know–I was pissed. I was angry. At that point in time, leaving was not an option and staying wasn’t that scary.”

Those who remained kept their focus on completing the project they had begun long before the invasion. All the while, Russian motorized combat units were recorded laying waste to neighborhoods, executing captured Ukrainian troops in blatant violation of international law and indiscriminately killing civilians.

For some of those who chose to evacuate, eventually arriving in Prague by way of Budapest, the early days of the war–when the Donetsk oblast was first occupied by pro-Russian separatists in 2014–played a key role in their decision. Lead community manager Yevhen Bazarov remembers the chaos in the area during this period.

“It’s unrealistic to live in this situation when everything is on fire,” Bazarov added. “We made this mistake when we were in Donetsk way back in 2015 for three months, because we were thinking, like, everything is going to be okay. But we were in the middle of the war in Donetsk for three months, in bomb shelters all the time.”

Somehow, despite the team splitting in two and a variety of setbacks, including a large fire in its new office, GSC Game World successfully launched Stalker 2 in late 2024. For more on the game’s development during the war, watch the full GameSpot Insider episode above.