A fire has reportedly torn through the Prague offices of STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl developer GSC Game World overnight. The report comes from Vortex (translated via Google), which cites two anonymous sources and claims to have a photo of the damage, which it is not able to publish. It says that the fire “devastated” the equipment and interior.
According to the report, GSC Game World occupies three floors of the building. While only one has been affected, that floor hosts the back-up servers for the studio’s data. The blaze has been blamed on an electrical fault, and required the evacuation of between 20 and 30 people. The damage bill is estimated at 1.5 million koruna (approximately $65,750).
At the time of writing, it is unclear how the fire will impact the continuing development of STALKER 2 or what kind of data loss might have been suffered as a result. GSC Game World has not yet issued a statement.
However, it’s another setback for the development team, which has already moved its operations from Ukraine to the Czech Republic as a result of the ongoing Russian aggression. Just weeks ago, the game was delayed to early next year alongside the release of a new, action-packed trailer. STALKER 2 is currently slated to launch in Q1 2024 on PC and Xbox Series S|X and will be available via Game Pass.
Published: Sep 8, 2023 06:53 pm