Ukrainian developer GSC Game World has asked fans not to share an early test build of Stalker 2, stolen and leaked online by Russian hackers as part of what it calls a “year and a half” attack.
GSC Game World – which relocated from Kyiv to Prague last year following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – first confirmed it was the target of Russian hackers back in March, when it revealed an employee’s accounts was hacked and that the studio had been threatened with blackmail.
“We are a Ukrainian company,” it wrote at the time, “and like most Ukrainians, we have experienced many things that are much more terrifying: destroyed houses, ruined lives, and the deaths of our loved ones. Attempts to blackmail or intimidate us are completely futile”.
Now, though, following recent reports that an early build of Stalker 2 had been leaked and shared online, the developer has confirmed Russian hackers were able to “access and compromise” Stalker 2 information “intended for internal testing”. It has also asked fans “not to look at or share any leaked information from the game”.