S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 Development Captured in War Game

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 Development Captured in War Game

Look, there is really no easy way to introduce this. No fun quip to be made, no clever repartee to establish. So I guess all I can do is lay it out there. As many of you may know, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 was developed in Ukraine by GSC Game World during perhaps the most trying conditions that could ever be imagined, let alone experienced. The fact that the game looks amazing is a testament to the developer’s skill and the enduring nature of humanity’s passion for creation. For those of us who can only imagine this nightmare scenario, GSC Game World and Xbox have released a free 90 minute documentary called War Game, directed by Power: On: The Story of Xbox director Andrew Stephan, which is available now on YouTube. 

This isn’t your normal “making of” documentary. It shows the real human cost of war, the challenges in this impossible situation and a group of developers torn between their passion for the game’s development and the very real threat to their own safety. Director Andrew Stephen had this to say in a recent press release: “This film isn’t just about the hardest game development of all time. It’s about resilience and the unyielding human spirit in the face of unimaginable challenges. It’s about the importance of creation in a time of destruction…a defiant act of making something meaningful in the face of adversity”

Further, Mariia Grygorovych, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2’s creative director went on to talk about the challenge represented in the documentary: “Speaking personally, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 is the biggest and the most complex video game in my life. It was ambitious from the very beginning, but turned out to be an ultimate challenge by itself. It’s extremely important and extremely personal, and it’s a game made in the most stressful circumstances possible. That includes the pandemic, relocation, cyberattacks and, above all of that – war tearing our Homeland apart. I wish the war never happened. I wish all of this never happened. But it did. And we’re grateful for the opportunity to share all of this with the world, because the world should know. This is us. This is our story”

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2

With all that in mind, despite your thoughts on S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2, on development or even on games in general, I strongly urge everyone to watch this film. Its insights, revelations and depictions, while hard to watch, are much more important than simply the making of another game. It is a window into humanity, its trials and overcoming adversity that no Hollywood movie could ever hope to capture.

War Game: The Making of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 is available now, free to watch, on YouTube. 

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