S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 Launch Overwhelms Ukrainian Internet

The launch of the survival horror shooter S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 caused a significant stir in its home country, Ukraine, leading to a nationwide internet slowdown. Dive into the details of the launch and hear from the developers about their experiences and insights!

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 Takes Over Ukraine’s Internet

The release of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 on November 20th created an unprecedented surge in internet traffic, overwhelming Ukraine's digital infrastructure. Internet service providers Tenet and Triolan reported a significant drop in connection speeds by evening, attributing it to the massive influx of downloads from eager Ukrainian gamers. As stated by Triolan on their official Telegram channel, "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 managing to download the game, players faced challenges with slow server response times and login issues. The internet slowdown persisted for several hours until all interested players completed their downloads. GSC Game World, the developers behind S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2, expressed a mix of pride and astonishment at the overwhelming response.

"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, selling 1 million copies within just two days of its release. Despite facing performance issues and bugs, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 achieved remarkable sales globally, with a particularly strong reception in Ukraine.

GSC Game World, a Ukrainian studio with offices in Kyiv and Prague, faced numerous challenges during the development due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, which led to multiple delays. However, the team's determination paid off, successfully launching the game in November. The studio continues to support the game with updates, having already released its third major patch this week to address bugs, optimize performance, and fix crashes.