Why the death of GSC and STALKER 2 is a tragic day for the industry

BeefJack: "As GSC Game World shuts its doors and STALKER 2 fades away, we look back at the Ukrainian developer’s history, and explain why its closure marks a tragic day for the industry."

[za3redrum]

It is tragic. I loved S.T.A.L.K.E.R., allthough it had many bugs and problems. It had the ambiance of Tjernobyl and gave players the freedom like in Fallout, which was unique on the PC.

[MAJ0R]

very true, but the Stalker Complete mods did fix them up nicely

[Micro_Sony]

Wait I am confused...Did the developers who made Metro also make STALKER? If so then does this mean that metro 2 will also be cancelled.

Please let this not be true because I loved Metro and part 2 is my most anticipated game.

[ironfist92]

Creators of STALKER broke apart and made their own game, Metro 2033.

That explains why both games are similar.

Metro 2033 was amazing, Last Light looks epic, and its a shame Stalker 2 got cancelled.

Maybe once they've finished work on Last Light, they can pick up and finish Stalker 2.

[DaveMan]

This industry is a fucking mess. We've had nearly 30 studios this gen collapse, and a multitude of publishers as well. I fear that one day only studios like Activision, and EA will still be around.

Everyone is screaming that we need a next gen now. Well, just be prepared to lose ever more developers, and lose more publishers as well (I suspect THQ is on the chopping block at any moment sadly).

This industry has such a shaky future, which is so sad considering how great video games can be.

[Tachyon_Nova]

I'm not sure I agree with you. The gaming industry is highly competitive, which means devs need to work really hard too be succesful, this is a good thing. If a studio can't hang with the big boys then they shouldn't be making big budget hardcore games.

It can't be that broken. I mean look at Crytek. It was founded by 3 brothers in 1999, has only released 4 games in that time, and yet they've expanded to 600 employees and 6 studious all the while remanding an independently owned group. Its all about being smart, and being good at what you do.

[bozebo]

"and being good at what you do"

Problem is, most studios loose their charm when they become successful because they must pay out to shareholders or are bullied by publishers (who must pay out to shareholders). In the end, the games suffer.

I would say that Bungie are one of the very few western developers who didn't go bad once they got big. But now Activision have them by the balls ($$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$) so who knows.

[AllSystemsRocks]

@Tachyon_Nova The way you think is exactly why we are in trouble. I mean if you always promote the more talented and hard working people there is no competition for them when they are on top because they have more power and more money, they just have t0 work steady not more, not less (a comfort zone).

At your job or school some time mediocre people will push the top one to be better because they will work harder on some projects or homeworks. If Activision & EA become the only 2, nothing will force them to be better (it's a monopole) so they will produce same thing each year NFS, CoD, AC (Ubi), Mass Effect (it's great so no boo plz), MoH ...

[Saladfax]

@bozebo

Actually, to use your term, they have Activision by the balls. Sure, the damnable company will probably cashing some pretty big checks when Bungie releases their next game, but...

Bungie has full rights and ownership to the IP they're creating, which means Activision is only forking over cash for the development. They might have some influence and say over production, but who knows? I'd bet Bungie has a helluva lot more freedom than when they were owned by Microsoft, and like it or not, the Halo games turned out pretty good.

[BiggsnWedge]

Except developers like DICE would of had the same fate as GSC had they kept going the same route. Now they are developing for many platforms and have a healthy buisness.

[MaxMurdoch]

except for the fact that your reason is console fanboy drivel.

Do some research before you talk, otherwise people will call you out on it. Stalker sold well on PC, and money was not the problem for GSC. The company was allegedly involved in tax fraud and the owner supposedly wants to shut it down for "personal reasons".

Not to mention the fact that the devs were payed peanuts even by local standards. So their development costs were likely much lower than western studios.

If you knew anything about eastern europe and countries like Ukraine, you would know that unlike in USA you cannot do business the honest way. You have to hand out bribes, and when you dont appease the right people this is what happens.

+1 disagree for you for talking without looking up facts.

[caboose32]

DICE absolutely did not have the same fate as GSC, they were completely fine and had plenty of money while creating PC games.

You're just a console fanboy who pulls false facts out of his ass. Try to be less ignorant next time.

[bozebo]

:(

[Yui_Suzumiya]

I second the notion about THQ being on shaky ground. It's a shame because I really enjoyed Homefront, Red Faction: Armageddon, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine and Saints Row: The Third. Also looking ahead to Darksiders II, Devil's Third, InSane and Homefront 2. If they went under, I wonder who would pick up those titles?

[Johandevries]

I am shocked by this news. At least we still have 4A Games (Metro 2033) and other talented Eastern European developers who fight against the big crowd of mainstream uber commercial games like Call of Duty or Assassins Creed

[ironfist92]

Maybe 4A Games can pick up the rights to finish off Stalker 2 after Last Light.

[Johandevries]

Yeah I hope so. It would be terrific. But at the same time, an incredibly large and complex game like STALKER is something different than a corridor shooter and I suppose it would be a very big burden for a different studio

[AAWELLS09]

This is the worst news(within the gaming industry) ive heard in years. Im praying that its still alive in one way,shape, or form. Im holding onto hope that sometime in the very near future things pick back up where they left off. Also the people talking about Metro: Last Light as fas as i know the game is completely safe and i for one cannot wait for it.

[theonlylolking]

They need to have the fans(modders) finish this game. I am sure they wont mind.

[Johandevries]

They will eventually release a very buggy build, I suppose there's quite a lot of work on it done already, compare it to the 2004 STALKER build they released in 2009 or so. One couldnt really play it, but modders can do anything if their effort is organised. Some of the best PC studios (Tripwire) originate from that

[e-p-ayeaH]

oh man i hope someone picks the game up and finishes it.

If the Duke Nukem franchise was saved so this can also be.