Ukrainian Internet Stalled by Surging Demand for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2

The highly anticipated survival horror shooter, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2, achieved phenomenal success in its home country, Ukraine, to the extent that it overwhelmed the national internet infrastructure. Let's delve into the launch details and the developers' reactions.

A Nation-Wide Digital Frenzy

The sheer popularity of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 on its November 20th release date led to a significant internet slowdown across Ukraine. Major internet providers, Tenet and Triolan, reported normal daytime speeds dramatically decreasing in the evening, directly attributed to the massive concurrent downloads by Ukrainian gamers. Triolan's official Telegram announcement, as translated by ITC, cited "increased load on the channels due to the massive interest in the release of S.T.A.L.K.E.R." as the cause.

Even after successful downloads, many players experienced login and loading difficulties. This nationwide internet disruption persisted for several hours before resolving as players completed their downloads.

GSC Game World, the developers, expressed a mixture of pride and astonishment at this unprecedented event. Creative director Mariia Grygorovych shared, "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!" She added, "For us and our team, what's most important is that for some people in Ukraine, they feel a little bit happier than they were before release. We did something for our home country, something good for them."

This overwhelming popularity translated into impressive sales figures: S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 reached 1 million copies sold within just two days of its launch. Despite acknowledged performance issues and bugs, the game's success was undeniable, particularly in Ukraine.

GSC Game World, a Ukrainian studio with offices in Kyiv and Prague, faced challenges bringing the game to market, including multiple launch delays due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. However, their dedication resulted in a November release. The studio remains committed to addressing the game's bugs and performance issues through ongoing updates; a third major patch was released earlier this week.