Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, GSC Game World had to pause development on S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl. However, it seems that the team may be shifting to the Czech Republic to continue its work. Czech journalist Pavel Dobrovsky first tweeted (translation via DeepL) about “part” of the developer moving to Prague.
Czech gaming website Vortex also spoke to Pavel Barak, chairman of the Association of Czech Game Developers. He said that, “I can confirm that the Association was approached by GSC studio early last week saying they were looking at the Czech Republic and surrounding countries. They needed help from us on legal and employment matters.” A final confirmation wasn’t provided though.
However, a reliable source (which remained anonymous) told the website that the shift was confirmed. The source confirmed that GSC management had decided on Prague and that part of the team is signing on for business. Vortex chief editor Jiří Bigas also noted in a separate tweet that this shift could involve other Ukrainian studios potentially shifting to the Czech Republic. Time will ultimately tell though so stay tuned for further updates.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl is currently slated to release on December 8th for Xbox Series X/S and PC. It’s also launching day one on Xbox Game Pass.