Stalker 2 boss thought bugs would bother y'all more and expected "much less success," still wants to fix things until it's a game "90% of people loved"

As a seasoned gamer who has weathered countless delays and buggy launches in the gaming industry, I can empathize with GSC Game World’s predicament. The ongoing invasion of Ukraine, which has disrupted their team’s work environment, is an unprecedented challenge that few could anticipate. It’s a testament to their resilience that they were able to launch Stalker 2 at all, let alone sell over a million copies in its first week.

According to GSC Game World’s CEO, Ievgen Grygorovych, the success of Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl was significantly less than he had anticipated following its release, which was marred by numerous bugs.

Stalker 2 is the long-awaited follow-up to the post-apocalyptic original, but it’s important to remember that a few rough spots are inherent in its development. Moreover, it’s unfortunate to note that GSC Game World and many of its team members have been affected by the ongoing conflict in Ukraine for a significant part of the game’s production process. This undoubtedly had an impact on delays and the number of bugs present at launch.

As a passionate creative director, Maria Grygorovych finds it challenging to provide justifications to potential buyers during an interview with IGN. She states, “We can’t inform our players that every day, half of our team is without power for weeks at a time.” She continues, “Some members of our team can’t rest at night because of the constant drone activity and missile attacks. This occurs daily, and it’s hard to imagine how people can survive with such disruptions to their sleep and work.

As a devoted fan, I can share that CEO Ievgen Grygorovych openly admitted the game’s initial buggy state was recognized by the team at GSC Game World. However, as an independent company, they lacked the necessary resources to postpone the release any further. Yet, against all odds and with the addition of Game Pass on day one, Stalker 2 astonished everyone by selling over a million copies within its first week. Furthermore, it currently boasts an impressive 84% positive rating on Steam.

The CEO acknowledges they anticipated significantly less success than what was ultimately achieved by the audience. They were apprehensive about this… they realized that the game was not in a state they desired and wished to improve. Launching any game inevitably means dealing with bugs, some of which they anticipated, but others they didn’t. They acknowledge they would have liked more time for refinement, but it was beyond their control.

GSC Game World has implemented a significant update in the Zone, addressing approximately 650 issues such as bugs, crashes, and blocked quests. However, the studio CEO emphasizes that the team is determined to continue enhancing the game until player reviews reach loftier heights: “As creators, we strive for excellence, aiming to achieve a milestone where 90% of players express satisfaction with our work, not just 85%, or 83%, or 86%. Our goal is 90%.

2024-12-06 20:39

Stalker 2 boss thought bugs would bother y’all more and expected “much less success,” still wants to fix things until it’s a game “90% of people loved”

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