The highly anticipated survival horror shooter, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2, achieved phenomenal success in its home country, Ukraine, causing a significant nationwide internet slowdown due to the sheer volume of simultaneous downloads.
A Nation Enters the Zone
On November 20th, the game's launch day, Ukrainian internet service providers, Tenet and Triolan, reported a dramatic decrease in internet speeds during the evening. This was directly attributed to the massive influx of players simultaneously downloading S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2. Triolan's Telegram announcement, as translated, stated the speed reduction was due to "increased load on the channels due to the massive interest in the release of S.T.A.L.K.E.R." Even after successful downloads, many users experienced slow login times and loading issues. The widespread internet disruption lasted for several hours before resolving.
GSC Game World, the Ukrainian developer, expressed both pride and surprise at this unprecedented event. Creative director Mariia Grygorovych commented, "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! 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. 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 sold a remarkable 1 million copies within just two days of its release. Despite acknowledged performance issues and bugs, the game's reception was exceptionally positive, particularly in Ukraine.
GSC Game World, operating from Kyiv and Prague, faced challenges in releasing the game due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, which caused multiple launch delays. However, the studio remained committed to its release and has since been diligently working on patches to address bugs and optimize performance, recently releasing its third major patch.
