Vapid Response Unit: Wasn't STALKER 2 in development before when GSC suddenly got closed down in very suspicious circumstances several years ago?
Vapid Response Unit: Any idea if it's basically the same game or they started again from scratch?
Stalker and Stalker 2 are the type of these games that are stuck in development hell. The fish rots from the head, as always. And the head of GSC is Sergiy Grygorovych and his crazy "effective" managers. I can't say anything good about Sergiy Grygorovych as a person. If you want to know what kind of person he is, this is the link for you.
https://www.reddit.com/r/stalker/comments/rjdyio/youtuber_warlockracy_explains_how_greedy_and/
You can say that each person's personal qualities are their own business. But personality traits are the thing that affect all people around you that you work with and interact with on a daily basis. So this is matter. This affects the atmosphere in the team. This affects development. This affects the quality of the final product. When developers and game designers become hostages of crazy "effective" managers, the result will be known in advance (disappointing).
Sergiy Grygorovych is a guy who has a very specific "relationship" with the gaming community. GSC is running all over the internet and threatening modders. They ban mods that fix and improve their own game. They threaten modders with legal actions. GSC seems to be aiming for the "glory" of the Rockstar Games. But this is not a glory to be proud of. Being the enemy of all modders on the planet is total shit.
In addition, GSC company spends a lot of effort (and money) on the fight against bloggers and freedom of speech. There should be only the "right" bloggers and the "right" opinion about their game. GSC has banned many bloggers (with hundreds of thousands of followers) on YouTube, Twitter, and other social networks. Why, you ask? For the fact that bloggers dared to repost screenshots and videos from the Stalker 2 on their blogs, which the GSC company itself officially posted in the public domain! Sounds crazy? But that's the reality. Dozens of well-known bloggers from different countries have suffered from the actions of GSC company. They lost their blogs and channels that they had been developing for more than 5-10 years... The funny thing is that among these bloggers there were also the most loyal fans of this game, who always spoke well about the company and their games.
Last year, GSC company bombarded with strikes and blocked the largest Belarusian YouTube gaming channel - IXBT Games. The channel was banned for using screenshots and videos available in the public domain (including on other YouTube channels). But the guys from IXBT did a great job. These guys went to court and Google unbanned their YouTube channel, deleting all strikes. But how many bloggers can afford to go to court? GSC company bears a huge responsibility for threats and harm to the entire gaming community.
At some point, it became clear that the GSC company has a whole department for fighting bloggers and modders. Obviously, this fight consumes a huge amount of money that could have been spent on the development of the game... But it seems that it is more important for GSC to build an illusory picture around its game than to create a really high-quality product.
Former employees of the company described the atmosphere in the team as toxic and extremely unhealthy. Sergiy Grygorovych has a long-standing and serious problems with alcohol. That person just can't lead the development of anything. Almost every month, the "core" developers and designers who worked on this game from the very beginning leave the company. In their place come juniors who don't understand anything. And there is no time to teach them. No one in the team has a common understanding and vision of the project.
Recently, Microsoft leads has grown tired of putting up with this bullshit. The former owner, Sergiy Grygorovych, is no longer listed in the GSC company's documents.
The new owner of the GSC company is a certain Maxim Krippa...
https://dtf.ru/u/494450-vino/2265865-vladelec-navi-maksim-krippa-kupil-studiyu-razrabov-stalker-gsc-game-world So, Maxim Krippa is the new boss of GSC. But who the f*ck this guy?
Ukrainian media outlet conducted an investigation that says that Maxim Krippa is a businessman and partner of Russian oligarchs.
https://blackboxosint.com/maksim-krippa-ta-kazino-vulkan-yak-partner-rosijskogo-oligarha-skupovuye-ukrayinski-zmi/
Over the years, this guy has worked with various casinos and bookmakers. And as you know, any casino is inherently a fraudulent business. I don't know why Microsoft appointed him as the new head of the GSC, but this guy doesn't know anything about gamedev. Perhaps at least he doesn't drink at work and doesn't use drugs?
In any case, either the Stalker 2 will never be released, or it will be released in an extremely terrible way, as was the case with the original Stalker. The GSC company is not interested in creating a quality product. GSC company is interested in fighting with bloggers and modders...