The Ukrainian studio GSC Game World announced that the account of one of its employees was hacked by Russian hackers. They demand that the creators of the not yet released game STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl "change their minds" and "rethink their attitude towards players from Belarus and Russia", returning Russian voice acting to the game.
In a statement, the company writes that attempts to hack into its accounts have been going on for a year. Russian hackers threaten developers to use the obtained material for blackmail. “We are a Ukrainian company. And, like most Ukrainians, they have also seen a lot of much more terrible things lately: our destroyed homes, mutilated destinies and deaths of loved ones. It will not work to scare us with such actions, ”said GSC Game World.
Responsibility for the hacking was claimed by the members of the “Bulletin of the same Stalker” group on the VKontakte social network. Hackers said that they got dozens of gigabytes of game materials. Among them - a full-fledged story, a description of the cut-scenes, concept art and more. Also, the Russians demanded to unban one profile in the official Discord of the developers and published some materials obtained as a result of the hack.
GSC Game World, in a statement, ask STALKER fans not to respond to the hack, not to watch or distribute leaked materials. “Outdated materials can blur the impression of the final idea that we put into the game. Please wait for the official release,” the developers ask.
STALKER in Russia is also being fought at the state level: after the outbreak of the war, Roskomnadzor blocked the game’s website due to violation of the law on “fakes” about the Russian army. Prior to this, the website of GSC Game World itself was also blocked for an announcement condemning Russia's military aggression.