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Windows Central

Technology

Brendan Lowry

"We're working to prove that we cannot be broken." STALKER 2 devs tell their story of resilience creating the Xbox, PC sequel amid Russia's Ukraine invasion in new 'War Game' documentary film.

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What you need to know

STALKER 2 developer GSC Game World has partnered with Microsoft and film director Andrew Stephan to release a documentary that tells the story of how the studio has created the survival shooter amid Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine.
The 90-minute film is titled "War Game: The Making of S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2," and includes many personal stories from several GSC employees who either had to evacuate Ukraine or remained in the country to fight or aid their community while continuing to work on the game.
In addition to chronicling GSC Game World's struggles during the ongoing conflict, the feature also covers the origins of STALKER and how it grew to become such an important Ukrainian cultural icon.
Russia's war has been the direct cause of several STALKER 2 delays, though now the game is scheduled to launch next month on November 20 on Xbox Series X|S and Windows PC. It will be available to play through Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass.

Two weeks after announcing the documentary film with a short trailer in mid-September, GSC Game World — the publisher and developer of the upcoming single player survival shooter STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl — has now released the feature, titled "War Game: The Making of S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2" on its official YouTube channel. To watch it, you can either do so through the embedded video below or by following this direct link to its webpage.

Directed by filmmaker Andrew Stephan and made in collaboration with Microsoft and Xbox, the 90-minute film chronicles GSC Game World's arduous journey to develop STALKER 2 in the face of Russia's ongoing war of aggression in Ukraine that escalated into a full invasion in February 2022. Additionally, it also dives into the history of GSC and STALKER itself, helping viewers understand where its creators came from, how the franchise came to be, and why STALKER ultimately became such a prominent cultural icon for Ukrainians in the post-Soviet era.

The feature includes several personal comments and stories from many different employees at the studio, all of which are complemented with footage and imagery captured by the developers and filmmakers both. Primarily, it focuses on GSC Game World CEO Ievgen Grygorovich and his wife (who is also STALKER 2's executive producer) Mariia Grygorovich as they detail their difficult quest to safely evacuate 183 employees and their families to Prague in the Czech Republic while simultaneously doing their best to support 139 developers still in Ukraine — many of whom have volunteered to aid their communities and fight on the frontlines. Through all of this, work on STALKER 2 has continued, with the game now slated to release on November 20 later this year.

An incredibly harrowing, yet inspiring story

GSC Game World and Microsoft were kind enough to give me access to an early screening of the documentary, and having viewed the full film, I can tell you that it's an inspiring, albeit very harrowing must-watch. The studio's story of tenacity and perseverance is as moving as it is miraculous, and its unwavering commitment to bringing its art to life despite devastating displacement and terrifying danger makes me proud to say I'm a STALKER fan.

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(Image credit: Harish Jonnalagadda / Windows Central)

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"We are like a Ukrainian flag that is still fluttering, though it's damaged by wind and missiles. We became some kind of symbol, having made this game," said one GSC developer. "And I'd like the average player to realize that behind every story, behind every element in STALKER, there's a person who overcame themselves to see it through to the end," added another.

"No matter what anyone says, we are such a nation, we are strong," another member of the studio commented. "We load our weapons with one hand and make the game with the other. That's who we are."

GSC Game World lead programmer Dmitriy Iassenev is one of several employees at the studio that volunteered to fight against Russia's invasion. (Image credit: GSC Game World)

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STALKER 2 is scheduled to launch on November 20, 2024 on Xbox Series X|S and Windows PC, with preorders available now. Notably, the PC version of the game coming to Valve's PC gaming platform Steam is on sale for $37.49 at CDKeys (its MSRP is $59.99), and you'll be able to play the Xbox and Microsoft Store version of the shooter with Xbox Game Pass.

I'll close this article with comments from director Andrew Stephan, who says he hopes "to create a deeper level of sympathy for what the team at GSC Game World has endured and to foster a greater appreciation for the immense challenge of game-development in general" with this film. Here's his full statement:

Gamescom 2023 attendees playing a 15-minute demo of STALKER 2. (Image credit: GSC Game World)

"I first learned of GSC Game World’s remarkable journey through Tina Summerford, an Xbox programming exec, in the summer of 2022 shortly after completing a docu-series for Microsoft celebrating Xbox’s 20th anniversary. With a team of just over 300 people, this independent Ukrainian game development studio was hard at work on on the highly anticipated sequel to their 2007 cult hit, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2, when the looming concern of a war with Russia increasingly threatened to disrupt the game’s development and the lives of everyone involved.

Days before Russia invaded Ukraine, the company’s Executive Producer Mariia Grygorovich – along with her husband, CEO Ievgen Grygorovich, masterminded a plan to evacuate nearly 200 staffers and their families to neighboring Budapest, and ultimately, Prague. What struck me was not just the logistical challenge of continuing game development under those circumstances, but the fact that several team members who stayed behind had traded in their keyboards for weapons. These deeply proud Ukrainians fought on the front lines by day and continued to work on the game by night - a mind-blowing commitment both to country and craft.

I’ve always been sympathetic to game developers who, while under immense pressure, face weighty expectations and blistering criticism when things don’t turn out as planned. Many fans, driven by their intense love for these franchises, sometimes lose touch with the fact that real human beings exist behind these fictional games they cherish.

As I began to immerse myself in their story, even before the delays that have since accompanied S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2, I read countless attacks from fans and critics hammering the studio for “taking so long” to finish the game. I immediately saw GSC Game World’s saga as an incredibly rare opportunity to humanize the process of game development. Their odyssey also gave me a chance to tackle something I’ve long loved doing: digging into the human element of a story that would normally only appeal to a specific fan base and make it more accessible and engaging to a diverse audience. GSC Game World’s story isn’t just for gamers. It’s a powerful narrative that transcends the typical account of development, one that sits at the intersection of gaming, culture, business, and global affairs. This film isn’t just about the hardest game development of all time. It’s about resilience and the unyielding human spirit in the face of unimaginable challenges. It’s about the importance of creation in a time of destruction...a defiant act of making something meaningful in the face of adversity.

Through this film, I hope to create a deeper level of sympathy for what the team at GSC Game World has endured and to foster a greater appreciation for the immense challenge of game-development in general."