Throughout the PC Gaming Present: Most Needed, we ran by the 25 most enjoyable upcoming PC video games, as voted for by The Council—a group of 70 trade professionals, critics and influencers, together with Sid Meier, Tim Schafer and Brenda Romero. The Council’s high choose this yr—probably the most wished of the Most Needed—is Stalker 2, GSC Sport World’s hotly anticipated follow-up to the cult traditional FPS sequence.
“Recording this video feels nearly surreal,” says Evgeniy Grygorovych, CEO of GSC Sport World and recreation director of Stalker 2, in his acceptance speech for the award. “Being right here proves that a number of parts a lot bigger than myself aligned for this second to occur.
Above: See Evgeniy Grygorovych’s PCGS Most Needed acceptance speech.
It is easy to see simply why it is so hotly anticipated. The final recreation within the sequence, Stalker: Name of Pripyat, launched again in 2009, however nonetheless stays an all time traditional for PC gaming followers. On this yr’s PC Gamer Prime 100, it positioned at quantity 76. “It captures the expertise of being a scavenger and treasure-seeker in a world that essentially doesn’t need you there higher than the rest I’ve performed,” stated PCG’s Josh Wolens on the time. As a sequence, Stalker has at all times been uncompromising in its design—an uncompromising shooter the place you are compelled to respect the mercy of the unusual, irradiated world you are battling to outlive in.
“A few years in the past, when the journey we had deliberate concluded, you refused to go away The Zone,” says Grygorovych, thanking the followers who stored Stalker of their hearts for over a decade. “You enriched it with tales, love and life, guaranteeing the legacy continues by the years. You have proven us that there are nonetheless objectives to realize and tales to inform. Your ardour has guided us all through the journey, and I can by no means categorical sufficient gratitude for that. I think about this award an emblem of your unbreakable belief.”
At this yr’s Gamescom, I had the possibility to play a brief, 15 minute demo of Stalker 2. Inside simply a few minutes, I used to be attacked by a mutant canine, torn aside by an invisible anomaly and irradiated after standing too near an irradiated lake. The Zone is as hostile as ever, defending its treasures with lethal threats and harsh, uninhabitable circumstances. It is irresistibly darkish and foreboding, extra so than earlier video games because of the significantly better graphics and moody, atmospheric lightning.
“Stalker 2 stands as the most important and most complicated recreation in our lives,” continues Grygorovych. “It was bold from the start, however advanced into an final problem. It holds excessive significance, and a deeply private connection for us, crafted amidst probably the most tense circumstances conceivable, together with the pandemic, conflict, relocation, cyberattacks, life threats and extra.”
As hyped as we’re for Stalker 2, it is also vital to recognise the circumstances of its creation. In February final yr, Russia launched an unlawful invasion of Ukraine. For months after it started, the town of Kyiv—the place GSC Sport World was primarily based—was a significant goal of Russian forces, sustaining artillery fireplace and repeated incursions. “The work day begins with a siren,” stated GSC’s Anton Kukhtytski in a video proven throughout this Summer time’s Xbox Showcase. “Throughout the bombing, we run to the bomb shelter.”
Improvement of the sport was paused whereas GSC evacuated staff and relocated the studio to Prague. It is partly as a consequence of these hardships that, for the staff, Stalker 2 has taken on much more significance. “The conflict nonetheless goes on in Ukraine,” says Grygorovych. “These at present preventing on the entrance strains, together with GSC staff, are actual heroes. Not all of them had been educated for this. They merely could not flip away.
“Stalker 2 was vital for us even earlier than the conflict, however now it stands as a nationwide product aiming to convey Ukraine’s unbreakable spirit to the world. At the moment we have a good time our victory right here, whereas concurrently striving for our homeland’s final triumph sooner or later. I’m overwhelmed with the enjoyment to recognise that Stalker 2 enters the ultimate section of growth. Fellow Stalkers will quickly reunite in The Zone as soon as once more. Thanks all for this award.”
Regardless of every thing the staff has been by, Stalker 2 is ready to launch within the first quarter of subsequent yr. We won’t wait to return to The Zone—to go face-to-face with the horrors and mysteries of probably the most unique and distinctive settings in PC gaming.