Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl developer GSC Game World says it's suffered attacks from Russian hackers for "almost a year and a half," and those attacks have now led to the leak of a test build of the hotly anticipated survival game.
"Our team has identified a vulnerability exploited by a group of Russian hackers attacking the company for almost a year and a half," the Ukrainian studio said in a statement. "Unfortunately, they were able to access and comprise some of our leaked information intended for internal testing of various game aspects."
The studio goes on to ask fans "not to look at or share any leaked materials from the game," which surely nobody will do here on the internet. GSC Game World is quick to note that the leaked materials "are not release-ready" and don't reflect the game's goals, but they could still "ruin your experience of exploring the Zone by yourself."
"Despite the issue, we will continue to ensure that the game will satisfy your expectations, as we hope," the statement concludes.
This incident comes just a few months after GSC Game World dismissed a blackmail threat from pro-Russian hackers who hijacked one dev's account "for a collective work-with-images application."
"They are threatening to use the obtained data for blackmail and intimidation," the studio said in March. "This is not the first attempt to hack and leak our data, including personal information. We have been enduring constant cyberattacks for more than a year now. We have faced blackmail, acts of aggression, hacks, attempts to hurt players and fans, and efforts to damage the development process or the reputation of our company."
It's unclear if these two attacks are the work of the same group of hackers. Responsibility for the March hack was claimed on a Russian social network.
GSC Game World previously announced a price increase for Stalker 2's Ultimate Edition amidst Russia's ongoing invasion of the Ukraine, claiming it will help keep the quality of the included collectibles high despite the development and production challenges of wartime.
The name of the game was even changed to reflect the Ukrainian spelling of Chornobyl, rather than the Russian 'Chernobyl' spelling.
Stalker 2 recently resurfaced with new footage for the first time in months, but it was a simple Ukrainian energy drink product placement.
