GSC Game World, the game developer for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl, has revealed that they have been victim of a fire.
Hazzador Gaming shared a translation of the news from the website Požary.cz. We have transcribed their translation of the new below:
“The GSC Game World studio suffered a fire that destroyed one of the floors used by the company.
The authors of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl from the studio GSC Game World moved largely to Prague after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
According to our information, there was a fire in the team offices last night. We received the report from two independent trusted sources who wish to remain anonymous.
An electrical installation fire broke out in a high-rise building in Na Pankráci Street. Five fire units responded to the scene. Several dozen people were evacuated. According to the Prague municipality website, there were 30 people, according to the Požary.cz website, 20 people.
Fortunately, there were no injuries in the fire and the damage was tentatively estimated at 1.5 million crowns. One of the three floors of the GSC Game World studio was said to have been affected by the fire.
We have a photo from the scene which indicates that the fire devastated the office equipment and the interior itself. However, we cannot publish it.
It was said to be the most important floor with backup servers. The other two were not affected by the fire.
We have no information at this time as to whether this event may affect the completion of the game in any way. We are investigating further details. If we learn something new, we will update the article.”
Video Games Chronicle revealed that one of GSC Game World’s developers confirmed the news on Discord. The developer also reemphasized that none of the employees or office staff were hurt.
For now, we don’t know if this was actually an attack from the company’s enemies, or even if there is evidence of foul play. GSC also didn’t reveal if their offices experienced damage, or if they had lost any work or progress as a result. At the very least, they may need a few days to get back to working at full capacity.
Given a lack of certainty, now is not the time to speculate on the project. It seems safe to assume that GSC Game World remains on schedule unless they say otherwise. Clearly, there’s no question that GSC Game World is determined to finish this game.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl will be releasing on early 2024 on Xbox Series X|S, and on Windows, via Steam, Epic Game Store, and GOG.
