Areal Dev West Games Explains Connection To S.T.A.L.K.E.R.

Remember Areal, the amazing Kickstarter we featured not too long ago? It seems trouble is brewing on the horizon regarding the project. As you may remember, West Games, the devs behind the project, put forward in their pitch that they were the former developers of the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games, and so they have sought to create this game as a spiritual sequel for multiple platforms.

However, another developer lays claim to that distinction as well. Vostok Games, formed in 2012, is comprised of developers from GSC Game World. They have their own take on a S.T.A.L.K.E.R. reboot to boot; Survarium, which is free-to-play and includes role-playing and survival elements. When this claim was reported in their official forums, Vostok revealed that they got in contact with GSC Game World’s lawyers regarding this claim, and asked fans to spread this information as much as possible.

Today, on their first Kickstarter update, West Games explains their take on what happened when GSC Game World was initially dissolved by the company in 2011. They affirm that Vostok Games, as well as 4A Games (undisputed holders of the Metro Last Light IP), were formed then, and comprised of former GSC developers. However, their company, West Games, is comprised of the senior staff from GSC.

A quick look at their front page reveals that West Games have openly revealed the names of their team members, and these can be easily confirmed on LinkedIn; Eugene Kim and Yuriy Negrobov are definitely who they say they are. Is there more to this tiff than meets the eye, or did Vostok simply didn’t know their former colleagues are at West Games?

If fully funded and barring delays, Areal will be hitting PS4, Xbox One, Wii U, Windows, Mac, and Linux by September 2015.