Stalker 2 developer's latest setback is a fire gutting a third of its office, but it insists the team's 'dealt with worse than that before'

Stalker 2
(Image credit: GSC Game World)

As reported by Czech publication Vortex, on September 7, Stalker 2 developer GSC Game World suffered a fire at the Prague office it moved into last year following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. GSC Game World employees have stated that no one was hurt in the incident, but one of the three floors occupied by the dev sustained heavy damage and requires "full restoration."

Vortex reports that the other two floors used by GSC Game World were undamaged by the fire, but that the damaged floor may have been where the developer stored its backup servers. A GSC Game World representative confirmed that the fire occurred and stated that the incident was under investigation.

This was echoed by another GSC Game World employee with the handle Mol1t on the official Stalker Discord channel. Mol1t's full message is as follows:

"It is true. Fortunately, none of the employees or office staff were injured in the accident. 

A fire broke out in our office in Prague on Thursday. Even though the fire was successfully put out, one of the office floors now requires a full restoration. Further details of the accident are still being investigated. 

We express our deepest appreciation for your questions and the words of support we have been receiving.

No anomaly, not even a "Burner", will make us stop in our pursuit of our final goal. We've dealt with worse than that before. This is fine."

(Image credit: GSC Game World via Discord)

GSC Game World really can't catch a break. The studio relocated to Prague from Kyiv in the first place to continue working on Stalker 2 after the Russian invasion. It's since weathered multiple major hacks and leaks, seemingly originating from disgruntled Russian fans of its games. 

GSC Game World recently announced that Stalker 2 was delayed into early next year, and it's not yet clear if this office fire will delay release even further. Despite all those hardships and setbacks though, the game itself still looks like the Stalker we know and love. PCG UK editor-in-chief Phil Savage wrote that a brief Gamescom demo of the game "manages to pack in all the grim, dystopian misery a Stalker fan could want."

Associate Editor

Ted has been thinking about PC games and bothering anyone who would listen with his thoughts on them ever since he booted up his sister's copy of Neverwinter Nights on the family computer. He is obsessed with all things CRPG and CRPG-adjacent, but has also covered esports, modding, and rare game collecting. When he's not playing or writing about games, you can find Ted lifting weights on his back porch.

Read more
Stalker 2 endings - Soldiers gathered together
'Negotiations are underway' for a Stalker 2 Netflix show, because bleak post-apocalyptic fiction and Chornobyl are a killer TV combo
An armoured trooper stands in front of the Chernobyl sarcophagus.
Sweet aunt Petunia! GSC just announced updates for the 3 classic Stalker games 15 years after release
Stalker 2
It launched upside down and on fire, but busted and brilliant Stalker 2 has attracted 6 million players to the Zone in the last 3 months
A tattooed lady covered in robotic accoutrements gestures towards the camera.
Metro 2033 dev pulls a reverse Fight Club twist: It's been two companies this whole time and one of them is changing its name and making a sci-fi shooter in a dystopian South America
A building in Paris covered by trees
Former Stalker dev reveals new FPS set in a post-apocalyptic Paris that's been overrun by sentient trees
Spirit of the PC: Stalker 2
Spirit of the PC 2024: Stalker 2
Latest in FPS
A soldier looks out over the Verdansk map, as a single tear rolls down his cheek.
The original Verdansk map is returning to Call of Duty: Warzone, to celebrate which we get a soldier crying to Nat King Cole
FragPunk codes - A close-up shot of a mercenary wearing a mask with glowing eyes.
All FragPunk codes and how to redeem them
An evil-looking demon with red eyes and horns
You can theoretically beat Doom: The Dark Ages without using a gun, but 'You'd have a hard time, that's for sure,' says the game's director
Official Doom Guy art superimposed over Vault 666 Fallout-themed background.
Fallout-themed Doom mod Vault 666 has multiple endings, an OP Dogmeat companion, and a Ron Perlman-impersonating narrator so good, I was worried it was AI-generated at first
The Doomslayer in armor
Doom: The Dark Ages won't end with the Slayer in a coffin waiting for the start of Doom 2016: 'That would mean that we couldn't tell any more medieval stories'
Doom: The Dark Ages art
'I think only the shotguns are the same,' says Doom: The Dark Ages director, otherwise the guns are brand-new or significantly transformed
Latest in News
Pipboy holds up an open padlock.
A BIOS update could be all that's stopping you or someone else from jailbreaking your old AMD CPU
A screenshot from Sony's PlayStation 5 Pro announcement video, showing a stylized processor against a dark background with glowing lines streaming from its edges
The AMD x Sony collab gave us FSR4 and a version will appear in PlayStation next year, too, having 'already started to implement the new neural network on PS5 Pro'
Pedro Pascal as Joel in a coat in winter looking unhappy
'Don't you know what he did?': The truth comes out in The Last of Us Season 2 trailer
Aloy
'Creepy,' 'ghastly,' 'rancid': Viewers react to leaked video of Sony's AI-powered Aloy
Split Fiction trailer still - Zoe and Mio standing side by side, wearing glowing neon sci-fi jammies
Split Fiction sells 1 million copies over 2 days
A soldier looks out over the Verdansk map, as a single tear rolls down his cheek.
The original Verdansk map is returning to Call of Duty: Warzone, to celebrate which we get a soldier crying to Nat King Cole