S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 developer refuses to give in to the leaker’s demands

GSC Game World, a Ukrainian studio, has asked fans to avoid S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 leaks after refusing to cave to the demands of a group of blackmailers attempting to force the company to change its stance on Russian players and localization.

The details:

• On the Russian social networking site VK, a S.T.A.L.K.E.R. fan community demanded that GSC "rethink [its] attitude toward players from Belarus and Russia," announce a Russian-localized version of the game, and unban the hacker's Discord account by March 15. The situation appears to have started with the hacker being banned from the game's official Discord server, prompting them to "stop holding back" and threaten to leak tens of gigabytes of content stolen from an employee's work account. The post was also accompanied by screenshots and concept art from the unreleased project.
• GSC has since responded to the threats, stating that they will not change any plans for the game's development and that "attempts to blackmail or intimidate us are completely futile," adding that "despite the attempts to break us, we remain strong and courageous." The game's story, maps, and cutscenes are among the content stolen from the developer, and the company has asked fans of the franchise not to share or view any of the leaked information, claiming that doing so will "dilute the impression of the final idea that we have put into the game.”
• Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, GSC has continued the development of S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2, making numerous changes and moves along the way, including changing the spelling of "Chernobyl" in the title to the local Ukrainian spelling "Chornobyl," removing Russian voice acting and subtitles and moving its operations to Prague from its original headquarters in Kyiv. Although the changes were unsurprising given the circumstances, it's worth noting that Russian players make up a sizable portion of the series' fan base.

Other recent leaks in gaming:

• An alleged insider has claimed that Grand Theft Auto 6 is aiming for a holiday 2024 release with Rockstar Games executives unwilling to provide any further development time. The new deadline could potentially require the studio to cut content that it plans to release at a later date as DLC.
• Following Bethesda's Starfield, Microsoft's next major first-party releases are said to be Hellblade II and Avowed. Hellblade II has been in development for several years and could be released as early as 2024, while Avowed is a little further behind, having been revealed in 2020.
• A Call of Duty TV show is reportedly in the works, with a leaker sharing numerous screenshots from the series' first episode. The images depict the iconic Task Force 141 characters from the Modern Warfare reboot, as well as the series' villain, General Shepard. The show is expected to premiere in May of this year, with a trailer coming soon.