Stalker 2 has had a rollercoaster launch, amid great excitement and support it also faced a number of issues. However, the real challenges started long before the game’s release. The development team had to work with the threat of an actual invasion looming over them. As a result, the game’s release was delayed multiple times.
As reported by The Gamer which credits Eurogamer, GSC Game World had a lot to contend with during the development cycle. As mentioned the team had to contend with a looming invasion and even had to relocate their offices.
Despite all of the challenges GSC Game World faced, they still released Stalker 2 and 3 major updates in the time since. But CEO Ievgen Grygorovych said that another delay was not an option. This was apparently because working on a game under such intense conditions was a huge strain on the team. It sounds like they needed the release to take the pressure off of them. Despite that all, the team has continued to fix and polish the game. All the while keeping their fans in the loop and thanking them for their support.
“It’s very hard to explain your state when you’re in a very intensive work process for many months until release, and you’re working over, over, over what you usually can do and in the highest possible stress and overwhelming period. You have no energy at all and you decide – should we take one more marathon? And you just can’t say yes, let’s make one more marathon, because you’re already broken.” – Ievgen Grygorovych (GSC Game World studio CEO)
This a lesson in how to deal with a less-than-ideal launch. Developers should take notes, great communication, responses to feedback and meaningful updates are how to keep your fanbase happy. Well done to the GSC Game World team, for overcoming such large obstacles and continuing to improve their game.
As stated above there have been three updates so far. If you’d like to find out more about the recent update then click here.