GSC pushes back on Stalker 2 funding claims

Earlier this week, a former GSC Game World founder claimed that Stalker 2 essentially paid for itself on day one thanks to a major timed exclusivity deal with Xbox. Now, the studio has issued a response pushing back on those comments.

GSC Game World clarified that the founder was not involved in negotiations or development during Stalker 2’s production. In a statement to Insider Gaming, the studio said his remarks “cannot be considered an accurate reflection of the actual state of affairs”.

The studio added that Sergiy Grygorovych “was not involved either in negotiations with partners regarding S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 or in the actual development of the game throughout its full production cycle”, stressing that GSC “always fully honoured these agreements”. As a result, the company says his statements should not be treated as representative of how the project was funded or managed.

GSC also described Stalker 2 as “one of the most challenging projects in the history of the video game industry”, emphasising that the story of the game “should be based on facts, not on assumptions or subjective opinions”. While the studio did not directly deny the possibility that the Xbox deal covered development costs, it is clear that GSC was unhappy with how the situation was characterised and is seeking to correct the narrative.

Stalker 2 is set to make headlines again pretty soon, as the game's first major expansion, The Cost of Hope, is set to release later this year.

KitGuru Says: I wasn't expecting Grygorovych's comments to be controversial but here we are. At any rate, we should all be looking forward to Stalker 2's upcoming expansion. The base game is already fantastic, especially now that a number of earlier bugs have been fixed. 

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