Stalker 2 Dev: Huge, 100-Hour, Handcrafted Game
Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl promises to be an expansive game with a massive map and a storyline that takes around 100 hours to fully uncover. What’s remarkable is that the entire game was created without relying heavily on procedural generation, it was all hand-crafted.
In an interview at Gamescom 2024, Stalker 2 technical producer Yevhenii Kulyk explained the difficulty of designing a map that isn’t just large, but also immersive and memorable. “Making a big map is one thing, but it has to be playable, beautiful, and the player should be able to remember key locations within the Zone,” Kulyk said. He emphasized that, despite its size, nearly everything in the game was crafted manually, with minimal use of automated design tools.
Procedural generation, commonly used in game development to automate the creation of environments or NPCs, wasn’t a significant part of Stalker 2’s design. “Everything you experience in the game has been touched by our talented level designers, artists, and team members,” Kulyk added, noting that players won’t find repeating assets like identical buildings or rooms.
Adding to this impressive feat is the fact that GSC Game World has been developing the game amidst the war in Ukraine. Despite the challenges of working in a war zone following Russia’s invasion, many of the development team remained at the Kyiv headquarters, while others relocated to a new office in Prague or even joined the fight.
First announced in 2010, Stalker 2 is finally set to release on November 20 for Xbox Series X/S and PC.
