Russian hackers leak stolen assets from Ukrainian video game under development
Russian hackers who previously put forward several demands to Ukrainian video game developer GSC Game World have leaked stolen data about the upcoming S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl video game.
Earlier on March 12, GSC Game World wrote on Twitter that it would not comply with any demands and advised everyone to refrain from watching or distributing information about the game as it does not necessarily reflect the finished product.
“We are a Ukrainian company, and like most Ukrainians, we have experienced many things that are much more terrifying: destroyed houses, ruined lives, and the deaths of our loved ones,” the company said.
“Attempts to blackmail or intimidate us are utterly futile. Our unwavering commitment to supporting our country remains unchanged – we will continue to do everything possible to support Ukraine. And this won’t change in the future under any circumstances.”
In response, the hackers released 15 out of 30 gigabytes of data they have previously obtained, including various design documents, art books, concept art, development builds and, according to the Russians, the main plot of the game.
GSC Game World is a well-known Ukrainian game developer, best known for their series of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and Cossacks games. Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the company has relocated part of its employees to Europe, while the rest remained in Ukraine and many of them joined the armed forces. One of them, game designer Volodymyr Yezhov, was killed in December 2022 while defending the town of Bakhmut in Donetsk Oblast.
Since the full-scale invasion, the company has clearly stated its support for Ukraine. In particular, it delisted its games from the Russian-language segment of Steam digital video game store, and renamed the upcoming game Heart of Chernobyl to Heart of Chornobyl – to reflect the difference in Ukrainian and Russian spelling.
Due to these steps, GSC faced a wave of hate mail from the Russian customers.
The military war may be swinging in our favor, but the information war continues.
Just as an army needs soldiers, so does a free society need its journalists to ensure that people have access to honest, trustworthy voices to understand the world around them.
For the past five years, The New Voice of Ukraine has been working tirelessly to push back against Russian narratives and defend democracy. But we cannot do it alone.
Please consider supporting us on Patreon for just $5 a month – your donation does directly to supporting journalists and ensuring that this front of the infowar says solid and defended.
Thank you.
Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Google News
