Where you worried that Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl was never going to resurface again? GSC Game World has set out to reassure us, albeit in a really strange way.
GSC has released a new trailer for the game featuring a real life Ukrainian drink called Non Stop.
The trailer is simply called Become NonStoppable, and knowing this context, that seeming grammatical error now makes sense.
As reported by GamesRadar, they were able to confirm that Non Stop is a real energy drink from Ukraine. In fact, it turns out that this was a pretty old collaboration between GSC Game World and Non Stop. Not only has Non Stop already appeared in a prior Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl trailer from months ago. Non Stop also appeared in the original Stalker video game released in 2007 as well.
In fact, GSC actually brings up this association between the two companies in the description for this video. To quote their description succinctly:
“NON STOP energy drink [handshake emoji] S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 — just like on the first journey, officially together again!”
For those curious, we were able to trace the real Non Stop online, from Ukrainian beverages company New Products Gmbh. New Products describes Non Stop as an “energy drink cocktail for active people.”
So it’s somewhat believable that this European version of 8-Hour Energy or Lipovitan could be genuinely useful in the world of Stalker. Nevermind how it’s possible that Non Stop continues to be manufactured in Stalker’s dystopia.
Aside from the absurdity, this is obviously a good sign for Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl. There were some real fears that the project might never see the light of day. The combination of the ongoing war and pandemic, with the problems in Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl’s production from even before the pandemic hit made those fears legitimate.
We reported just last month that GSC Game World had really only finished 25 % of Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl. While this clip is really only a marginal update, it is reassuring that production must be going forward much better. I’m not saying that this clip is proof that the game is about to go gold. Clearly, if GSC Game World is comfortable enough to promote their product placement, then production is actually going pretty well! Hopefully they can share better news soon, maybe in the Xbox Showcase coming next month.
Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl has been announced for release sometime in 2023, for Xbox Series X|S and Windows via Steam, Epic Games Store, and even GOG, DRM-free. You can watch the trailer below.
