Why it matters: The development of one of 2022's most anticipated games had to be paused due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Recent reports have indicated that the studio working on it is considering moving to the Czech Republic to finish the game.
This week, an anonymous source told Czech gaming website Vortex that members of Stalker 2 developer GSC Game World went to Prague to apply for a business license. The studio is currently based in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, which has been under constant attack since Russia invaded the country.
The initial reports came from Retro Nation's Pavel Dobrovsky and others involved with the Czech gaming industry. Pavel Barák of the Czech Game Developers Association said the group entered negotiations with GSC after it considered fleeing Ukraine for a neighboring country.
Část ukrajinského studia GSC Game World (pracují na Stalker 2) se přesunuje do Prahy.
— Pavel Dobrovsky (@ashnobe) March 21, 2022
Stalker 2 was initially planned to release this April on PC and Xbox Series consoles but was delayed until December. Soon after Russia invaded Ukraine, GSC confirmed it had temporarily stopped development in order to provide aid.
Earlier this month, GSC also made a subtle change to Stalker 2's title, switching its subtitle from "Heart of Chernobyl" to "Heart of Chornobyl." The former is the English transliteration of the titular city's Russian name, whereas the latter is the Ukrainian spelling.
https://www.techspot.com/news/93904-stalker-2-development-reportedly-moving-czech-republic.html
