The launch of the survival horror shooter S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 sparked such intense interest in Ukraine that it led to a significant nationwide internet slowdown. Dive into the details of how the game's release unfolded and hear directly from the developers about their reactions and plans.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 Takes Over Ukraine’s Internet

On its launch day, November 20th, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 overwhelmed Ukrainian internet services due to an unprecedented surge in downloads. Internet providers Tenet and Triolan, via their official Telegram channels, reported that internet speeds dropped significantly by evening. This was caused by the simultaneous downloads from thousands of eager Ukrainian gamers. Triolan, as translated by ITC, stated, "Currently, there is a temporary decrease in Internet speed in all directions. This is due to the increased load on the channels due to the massive interest in the release of S.T.A.L.K.E.R."

Even after downloading the game, players encountered slow login times and other performance issues, which persisted for several hours until all interested players had completed their downloads. GSC Game World, the developer, expressed a mix of pride and surprise at the overwhelming response.

"It was hard for the whole country and it's a bad thing because the internet is important, but at the same time it's like whoa!" remarked creative director Mariia Grygorovych. "For us and our team what's most important is, for some people in Ukraine, they feel a little bit happier than they were before release," she added. "We did something for our home country, something good for them."

The game's popularity is undeniable, with sales reaching 1 million copies just two days post-launch. Despite facing criticism for performance issues and bugs, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 sold exceptionally well globally, with a particularly strong reception in Ukraine.

GSC Game World, a Ukrainian studio, operates from two offices in Kyiv and Prague. The ongoing conflict in Ukraine caused multiple delays, but the studio was resolute in its decision to release the game last month in November. Currently, GSC Game World is focused on releasing update patches to address the game's bugs, optimize performance, and fix crashes. Their third major patch was released earlier this week.