Ukrainian Developer GSC Game World first announced STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl in 2010. After a long period in development hell, the game resurfaced in 2018 and made waves during the Microsoft E3 Showcase last year. Unfortunately, the Kyiv-based studio was forced to suspend development due to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.
While the indefinite delay is to be expected given the situation in Kyiv, the war had a more surprising effect on the game’s development. Earlier today, STALKER 2’s developer changed its subtitle’s spelling from Heart of Chernobyl to Heart of Chornobyl.
“Chornobyl” is the Ukrainian spelling of the region’s better-known Russian name. The plant and surrounding Exclusion Zone where the STALKER games take place are located in Northern Ukraine. GSC Game World did not issue a statement regarding the change, though one can infer that it’s a way of protesting Russia’s aggression against the studio’s home country. Fans will notice STALKER 2’s new subtitle on the game’s Steam page and description, though some listings and promotional art still display the old Heart of Chernobyl subtitle.
The difference between the Russian “Chernobyl” and Ukrainian “Chornobyl” might seem insignificant to those not directly connected to the conflict. However, the long and often fraught relationship between Russia and Ukraine means that even minor linguistic differences become politicized. Many Ukrainians, for example, resent that foreigners often refer to their country as “The Ukraine.” They feel that saying “The Ukraine” implies that the country is merely a province or vassal state of Russia, despite existing as an independent nation since 1991.
Ukrainians also have a similar attitude toward the name of the country’s capital, preferring the Ukraine spelling of Kyiv to the Russian “Kiev.” There was even an online campaign under the hashtag KyivNotKiev as part of a more significant push to encourage foreigners to refer to locations in the country by their Ukrainian place names instead of the more popular Russian versions. Changing STAKER 2’s subtitle to Heart of Chornobyl is thus a tiny part of a larger movement. Viewed in that context, the new name is a wholly unsurprising move from the Kyiv-based GSC Game World.
While it’s predictable that the Ukrainian studio wound take a side in the ongoing conflict, GSC Game World is far from the only one. Take-Two Interactive recently suspended all sales and downloads in Russia and Belarus. Meanwhile, Frostpunk developer 11 Bit Studios announced it would donate all proceeds from This War of Mine to the Ukrainian Red cross. In addition, other studios offered large donations to humanitarian organizations helping the Ukrainian people.
STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl is in development for PC and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: PC Gamer