Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl may have arrived with more issues than the developers would have liked, but it’s almost a miracle it came out at all considering the ongoing war in Ukraine. Now, Russian propaganda outlets are trying to spread the wild claim that Stalker 2 is somehow drafting players into the Ukraine military to fight off the Russian invasion.
As first reported by 404 Media, the video is being spread on Telegram with false claims that it originated from a report by Wired. Emails have also been sent to journalists claiming that Ukrainian developer GSC Game World is helping the government of Ukraine find “citizens suitable for mobilization” through an embedded program that collects player data and locations. It also contends that Ukraine provided funding for Stalker 2’s development in exchange for that data.
PC Gamer points out that the video also encourages Stalker 2 fans to play the game with a VPN to avoid this supposed data collection. This suggests that the primary target of the propaganda isn’t players in the West or in Ukraine, but rather fans in Russia. The Stalker franchise was popular in Russia before the invasion, and it remains so now. The video is likely an attempt to dissuade Russian players from engaging with the game or anything else that portrays Ukraine in a positive light.
The behind-the-scenes documentary War Game: The Making of Stalker 2 chronicled the way that the Russian invasion upended the development of the game. Most of GSC Game World’s team had to flee the country to finish the project, while others remained to fight in a real war. The developer released a day-one patch to address some of Stalker 2’s lingering issues. However, GSC Game World remains committed to fixing the game’s remaining bugs. Stalker 2 has already sold over 1 million copies across PC and Xbox, and it’s also available on Game Pass.