S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl is set to release in late 2023 and is eagerly awaited by fans of the survival and shooter genres. The developers have now been hacked, and the hackers are making demands. However, the developers refuse to be extorted.
The S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series was supposed to get a new title a long time ago, but it has long been unclear whether S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 will still be released. Financial difficulties and the COVID pandemic have taken a toll on the developer studio GSC Game World.
In 2022, Russia began its invasion of Ukraine, another setback for the studio. They left Ukraine and have been working from Prague ever since. But the developers refuse to be beaten down.
Even after the latest piece of bad news, the developers want to remain strong. According to the studio behind S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2, a dev app was hacked and data was stolen. We will show you what the developers have to say and what demands the hackers are making.
Here you can find official images of the fantastic open world of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2. You can watch a trailer here:
Hackers demand better treatment of Russian players
What demands are the hackers making? In a post on the social network “VK”, a kind of Facebook from Russia, the user Вестник «Того Самого Сталкера» (translated: Herald of “The Same Stalker”) is extorting the developers of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 (via vk.vom).
He has obtained many gigabytes of data from the hack, including the entire story, descriptions of cutscenes, concept art, maps, and much more.
They have only published a little of it so far to prove the authenticity of the leak. However, everything will be released if 3 demands are not met:
- The developers should change their attitude towards Russian and Belarusian players. Additionally, an apology is expected for the previously undignified treatment of these players.
- A banned account on the official Discord server should be unbanned.
- The hackers expect a Russian localization of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 – either at launch or later as an addon.
This is all set up as an ultimatum. They expect a satisfactory response by March 15, 2023. Otherwise, all leaked data will be released online.
– Ukraine Live Blog (via Zeit)
– War in Ukraine (via nzz)
– Solidarity with Ukraine (via foreign-office)
Important Note: If you’re having dark thoughts due to the current situation: You’re not alone. Please seek help. For example, you can reach out to the telephone counseling service at 0800/111 0 111 or the online counseling, which also offers a chat option. This is free and available nationwide.
“We remain strong and brave”
What do the developers say about this? They have issued a statement on Twitter regarding the matter:
Summary of the tweet: “Despite attempts to break us, we remain strong and brave. If you believe in something with all your heart, you want to defend it, no matter the cost.”
The leak is authentic. The developers explain that they have been increasingly affected by intimidation and extortion for over a year. They feel many attempts from outside to interfere with the development.
However, as a Ukrainian studio, they have gone through much worse things in the past year than the current attacks on S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2. It is pointless to put them under pressure.
The developers urge their fans not to share or view leaked content. It is, anyway, “Work in Progress” material that may not represent the final idea of the game as intended by the developers.
When will S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 be released? On Steam it says “December 2023”, no specific date has been given yet. The survival shooter is one of the most anticipated games on Steam, currently standing at number 4 at the time of this article.
What else is coming this year for survival fans can be read here: 8 new survival games to look forward to in 2023
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