STALKER developer admits 'we will do our best to continue'
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. developer GSC Game World has acknowledged and confirmed rumors that the studio is in trouble.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. developer GSC Game World has acknowledged and confirmed rumors that the studio is in trouble.
Last week, a report indicated the Ukraine-based developer would close its doors, citing its "inability to license a console version of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 to publishers" as one of its primary issues. When it was announced in August 2010, GSC Game World said S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 was built upon "new multi-platform technology," but promised PC was the primary platform for the 2012 release.
GSC Game World initially denied rumors that pointed at the studio's closure, but retracted statements made on Twitter regarding the situation, and offered no comments when clarification was requested.
"We will do our best to continue. However, at this point, nothing is certain," GSC Game World's Twitter account noted earlier today.
In a more precise Tweet an hour later, the company promised its website, "with the forum [and] tech support" would continue. "The shop will continue until the nearest planned items sell out," the Tweet added.
According to UkraNews [via Eurogamer], GSC founder and CEO Sergei Grigorovich was unhappy with the progress of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 and had decided to close the company. The report also stated "Ukranian law enforcement was interested in taking control of the company."
If you're a fan of the franchise like me, you should check out GSC Game World's official store for your last opportunity to pick up S.T.A.L.K.E.R. related swag.
[Image above from S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky]
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replyXav de Matos posted a new article, STALKER developer admits 'we will do our best to continue'.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. developer GSC Game World has acknowledged and confirmed rumors that the studio is in trouble.-
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100 points on the douchebag scale, congrats!
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[deleted]
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I had relations with your mother twice. /Connery
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S.T.A.L.K.E.R. WAS THE PROM QUEEN
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GSC Game World: Carla WAS the prom queen!
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I thought Stalker was a fairly well established franchise, doing rather well. I wonder what happened.
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No console versions.
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He did. He wants a different life.
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it only took one brick to make that window drop
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[deleted]
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Post-Soviet Russian (and apparently Ukrainian) businesses have to live with something called "raiding". This is when a (government-backed) competitor decides to use law enforcement to take over a company.
Generally, the sequence goes as follows:
1) A fake company is created. It files a fake lawsuit somewhere out of the real company's sight.
2) Because the real company can't defend itself (and/or the court is paid off/ordered), cops are sent to the real company's office to "investigate"
3) The "investigation" consists of kicking everyone out of the building, usually with guns drawn, and seizing physical assets (including computers)
4) The records are then scoured for anything compromising and used to create new lawsuits by the court against the real company
5) The fake company's lawsuit doesn't matter any more, so the company disappears (even if the fake lawsuit is ongoing)
6) The lawsuits + seizure of equipment + harassment of employees hit the real company hard
7a) Competitor buys the company on the cheap, OR
7b) Owner refuses to sell; court finds against him, throws the owner in jail, and awards company to competitor
Mind you, this might not have happened to GSC Game World, but "cops looking into things" usually starts as "you didn't pay all the taxes" (the easiest charge to come up with) and leads down the raider road.-
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The 90s turned the former Soviet Union into the Wild West - thieves and cheaters prospered. Even if you ran a legitimate business, you needed to pay off both the thugs for "protection" and the cops for "taxes".
The 00s brought back consolidation of power. You can't be a successful businessman unless you've got someone in the government backing you up.
Even foreign investors aren't safe. There was one guy who ended up telling his story to CNN in an hour-long special (I don't remember names, sorry). The Russian side of his company got "raided". He, the owner, managed to get out of Russia, but his Russian partner did not. The partner was taken into police custody and beaten in order to get a confession. He refused to sign anything and ended up dead.
Again, not necessarily what was going to happen to GSC Game World, or what happens in Ukraine in general, but a lot of the former Soviet places follow the Russian realities pretty closely.
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Yep I've heard of this, it's a shame this game is actually pretty awesome. They created an awesome creepy world. I hope the best for them, rather them get the hell out of that country. I would never even visit russia there's no reason to go there...
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Checking out the Russian Clear Sky Collectors edition, for 31 dollars it comes with some pretty nice collectibles. I'm almost interested in doing it for the Stalker Zippo alone.
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I was thinking it too. Shipping is a little steep, as expected.
Badass piece of history, though. -
You can get all that stuff separately in the "Artifacts" section though.
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Original was still the best one.
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