“It’s not something that should be happening in any version of the civilised world” – the struggles of GSC Game World bringing Stalker 2 to the PS5
Today, Stalker 2 comes to the PS5. A massive step in the game’s post-launch roadmap, it brings with it a host of new additions to better serve the platform as well as the full suite of pre-existing gameplay iterations that have been consistently added to the haunting FPS since last year. However, with the war in Ukraine still raging and most of the PS5-version dev team still based in Kiev, it’s proven far from simple to produce the port.
Speaking to Eurogamer earlier this year, GSC Game World technical producer Yevhenii Kulyk ran through the perks of this new version of Stalker 2, as well as some of the unique features it boasts: “Our main goal was to introduce a new level of immersion using Duelsense features.”
Elaborating, Kulyk explains: “We implemented adaptive triggers, we’ve tweaked them so every gun in the game feels unique with those triggers. We’ve also utilised the use of advanced haptics. You can basically feel the zone when you’re traveling too.” In this new version of Stalker 2, anomalies can be felt as you approach them. Beeping from your detector can be heard from the controller’s speaker, and the whole experience has been visually enhanced for the PS5 Pro version.
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All in all it seems like a good opportunity for those otherwise unfamiliar with Stalker due to platform exclusivity to check it out in a polished form. Such is true for most ports of this nature, but given the wider struggles of the Stalker 2 team, it came with its own unique challenges.
“Both my teams I’m working with for the PS5 version and modding support, they are based in Ukraine,” Kulyk stated. “They are doing the most amazing job possible, even in this situation. They are delivering great results and I’m really proud of them.
“Most of the challenges are connected to the war. For example, electricity outages. We adapted to the situation to try and do something. We have, uh (laughs) almost I would say miniature-nuclear fusion reactors at the homes of our colleagues.”
When asked to elaborate on what he meant by that, Kulyk laughed before saying: “We have a lot of powerbanks, a lot of big power stations with a lot of batteries. We had to do that, and of course we use Starlink to provide internet connection to staff from time-to-time.”
The announcement of the PS5 version had a lot of charm to it. | Image credit: GSC Game World
Moving parts are a constant in game development as you can imagine, but it turns out the challenge of literally moving parts (in this case, dev kits) proved a daunting prospect. How do you ship PS5 development kits to a city under siege? As you can imagine, it comes with its own worries, though thankfully no tech had been destroyed as of the interview according to Kulyk.
“So we order them to our office in Prague, and then we send them to Kiev. It comes with additional risk. For example, you may know that in recent news some of the [distribution centres] and post offices are targets as well. So we are risking the loss of our tech due to these strikes.
“I would not say it was stressful, I would say it was quite challenging and really, really interesting. It’s a new platform, it’s a new system. Our main goal remains the same, to provide the best experience possible for our players and our new audience.”
A new port means an opportunity to make new decisions for the returning player. | Image credit: GSC
Zackhar Bocharov, PR manager at GSC Game World, added his own thoughts on the unique strain when it comes to the PS5 port and wider development process with Stalker 2: “There’s the Ukraine war. It’s not something that should be happening in any version of the civilised world, and Ukrainians are facing something they shouldn’t be facing. The majority of the team are still in Ukraine, like 230 people are in Prague, and 280-ish in Ukraine. The main stretch – the hard part – was working between the two offices. We managed that, and are still managing that, but it’s not normal.
“By release time, everyone was extremely dedicated and extremely tired. There was no way of postponing the game anymore. That resulted in a certain amount of work we were dedicated to providing to fans post-release. I want to say that there’s a certain degree of achievable normality, if I may say so, because we shipped the game during war time. We finished it, and are now updating it and working on DLC. There was a shift to work between several projects in parallel – post-launch support, DLCs, and something else. That required a certain restructure of the team.
“So it’s a different type of work now, but I think we’re doing… Like, one million copies sold in three days. Overall audience including Game Pass includes six million players at the moment. The numbers speak for themselves, it’s an obvious success, but we can’t stop. It requires a lot of work beyond the finish line, and that’s what’s going on now.”
Stalker 2 is out now on PS5, alongside previous releases on Xbox Series X|S and PC.
