The survival horror shooter, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2, became so popular in Ukraine that it led to a significant nationwide internet slowdown. Dive into the details of the game's launch and gain insights from the developers themselves.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 Takes Over Ukraine’s Internet
The launch of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 on November 20th overwhelmed Ukraine's internet infrastructure due to its massive popularity. Ukrainian internet providers Tenet and Triolan reported on their official Telegram channels that internet speeds dropped significantly in the evening due to the high volume of simultaneous downloads. Triolan noted, "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, players encountered slow login times and other issues. The internet slowdown lasted for hours until all interested players had successfully downloaded the game. GSC Game World, the developer, expressed a mix of pride and shock at the situation.
"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!" said 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 was undeniable, with S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 selling 1 million copies just two days after its release. Despite facing performance issues and bugs, it achieved remarkable sales globally, particularly in Ukraine.
GSC Game World, a Ukrainian studio with offices in Kyiv and Prague, faced numerous challenges in releasing the game due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, which caused multiple delays. However, they were determined to launch in November and have since been actively working on updates. The third major patch was released earlier this week, focusing on bug fixes, optimization, and crash resolutions.
