Stalker 2 developer confirms data theft and does not respond to attackers’ demands

Stalker 2 developer GSC Game World has responded to a hack on the company that happened recently. The studio confirms the incident and states that it does not respond to the attacker’s demands, which threatens to leak information about the game.

The Ukrainian GSC Game World states that it has suffered many attacks in the past year, targeting both the company and its employees. The attempt to extort GSC calls it “futile,” because the company has “experienced many things far more terrible,” such as “destroyed homes, ruined lives and deaths of loved ones.” The developer asks players not to pay attention to any leaks, as that would “dilute” the first impression of the game after its release.

The hacker or hackers behind the data theft are said to be Russian. In a post on the Russian social medium VKontakte, images of gameplay and designs are said to have been posted to prove the authenticity of the leak. The hackers demand that GSC Game World adjust its attitude towards Russia and Belarus, that work on a Russian translation of the game be resumed and that the ban of a certain user in the Stalker 2 Discord be reversed. That writes Game Rant, among others. If these requirements are not met, the hackers will release ‘tens of Gigabytes’ of data on March 15. This would consist of the entire story, cutscenes, concept art and global maps.

Stalker 2, stylized as STALKER 2, subtitled Heart of Chornobyl, is due out sometime this year. The game is a first-person shooter with survival elements that takes place in the area around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, approximately today. In the game’s world, the catastrophe has led to all sorts of supernatural phenomena, including artifacts with special powers, which the highest bidder is willing to pay a lot of money for. The riches and secrets of the zone attract a lot of interest, causing much competition for territory and treasures.