As a seasoned gamer with a soft spot for post-apocalyptic games, I’ve been eagerly awaiting the release of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 since its initial announcement. The anticipation was palpable, and the massive download size only fueled my excitement. However, what caught me off guard was the subtle change in the game’s title from “Chernobyl” to “Chornobyl.
At long last, after numerous delays and mounting excitement, I’ve finally gotten my hands on S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2. What took me aback was the tweak in its title – something that shifted between its initial announcement and release date. Strangely enough, there wasn’t any official announcement or heads-up about this name alteration. Yet, it didn’t take long for a few of us keen-eyed gamers to notice Steam had updated the game’s title. However, I suspect many players, including myself, were oblivious to this name change until we started receiving release notifications.
The game development company, GSC Game World, which is responsible for the highly anticipated title, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2, experienced a challenging phase in production, marked by a fire that harmed their offices and other obstacles. These hurdles resulted in several postponements, all of which were justifiable given the hardships GSC encountered during this timeframe. One specific event particularly affected the naming convention for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
When and Why “Chernobyl” was Changed to “Chornobyl”
Initially, GSC unveiled the game as “S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chernobyl,” and as recently as 2022, the official team used this spelling. In January 2022, their Twitter account (now called X) announced that the game would be postponed until December 2022. Although there was another delay later on, this announcement serves as a helpful reminder of when the title change occurred.
— S.T.A.L.K.E.R. OFFICIAL (@stalker_thegame) January 12, 2022
According to PC Gamer, the name change on Steam occurred on March 14, 2022. Since the post about the game’s delay until December 2022 was in January, and the Enter the Zone trailer from June 2022 already showed the updated spelling, it all fits together quite logically. Therefore, it appears that GSC made the decision to change the name somewhere between January and March 2022, at which point they updated the title on Steam.
Indeed, this brings us to ponder why GSC opted to transform “Chernobyl” into “Chornobyl,” and the explanation is a mix of historical context and politics. In essence, certain aspects of language have become politically charged due to the strained ties between Ukraine and Russia. Being a Ukrainian company situated in Kyiv, GSC chose to alter the title of their game from the Russian “Chernobyl” to the Ukrainian spelling of “Chornobyl.
This initiative aims to persuade English-language media to adopt Ukrainian spellings for Ukrainian locations rather than the Russian ones, a shift that has gained traction since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This change, though seemingly minor before the release of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2, is part of a broader effort. (The details behind this movement are further elaborated by The Independent.)
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2024-12-03 19:10