A GSC Game World developer in a motion-capture suit.
GSC Game World
- Ukrainian game developers described their working conditions in a new video diary.
- The video showed their makeshift offices, such as a bathroom or small corridor.
- Some have joined Ukraine’s Armed Forces during Russia’s invasion.
“S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chernobyl” was highlighted during the Xbox Games Showcase Extended event on Tuesday. The game has been delayed to next year because the development company, GSC Game World, is based in Kyiv, Ukraine.
GSC Game World
“S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chernobyl” was originally set to be released this year, but after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, where the development company behind the game, GSC Game World, is based, it’s been delayed to 2023. It’s set to be released on Microsoft Windows and Xbox Series X/S.
The developers shared an inspiring video diary with the Xbox Games Showcase Extended event on Tuesday about their lives during the war and how they’ve resumed development on the game.
Some developers have stepped away from the game to join the Ukrainian armed forces and aid in the conflict with Russia.
GSC Game World’s video diary showed the ruins after Russian bombing that took place less than a mile away from its office in Kyiv.
GSC Game World
Andrii Maksiuta, a voice director, said in the video that staffers ran to a bomb shelter during the attack.
This is what the GSC office in Kyiv looked like.
GSC Game World
Some of those who remained in Ukraine now work out of makeshift offices. Maksym Tkachenko, a community lead at GSC, appeared in the video in what seems to be a bathroom, saying it’s his “office space now.”
GSC Game World
Dariia Tsepkova, a narrative designer at GSC Game World, has lived for three months in what she called a “corridor” with a one-eyed dog rescued from the Ukrainian city of Hostomel.
GSC Game World
Some became volunteers. Oleksii Chekalenko, a 3D designer, said that he works on the game “between the sirens and my volunteer work.”
GSC Game World
Sirens are a regular occurrence for the developers still in Ukraine: “We have air raid sirens around the clock,” said Taras Kukurian, a community manager.
GSC Game World
Oleksandr Levchenko, an animator, said that he has not been in contact with his parents since Russia invaded: “It is an indescribable, horrible feeling not knowing whether your loved ones are alive.”
GSC Game World
One developer said that his cat died during the bombing in the first week when Russia invaded.
GSC Game World
Some developers joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine, including Dmytro Iassenev: “I never imagined a war in Europe in the 21st century.”
A Ukrainian game developer that joined the country’s armed forces.
GSC Game World
Oleksii Ivanov, a community manager, said that he is “defending my country from the Russian aggressors.”
GSC Game World
Maksym Hnatkov, a narrative designer, said that he would come back to the game “after our victory.”
GSC Game World
The video diary ended with text that said that some GSC colleagues couldn’t participate “due to safety concerns.”
GSC Game World
Watch the full developer diary below:
