S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: A Phenomenon That Overwhelmed Ukraine's Internet

The much-anticipated release of the survival horror shooter, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2, had an unprecedented impact on its home country, Ukraine, causing widespread internet issues due to its massive popularity. Dive into the details of the launch and hear directly from the developers about this extraordinary event.

The Zone Calls: S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2's Impact on Ukraine's Internet

On its launch day, November 20th, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2's popularity led to a significant slowdown in Ukraine's internet. Ukrainian internet providers, Tenet and Triolan, took to their official Telegram channels to explain the situation. They reported that while internet speeds were normal during the day, they drastically decreased by evening due to the simultaneous downloading of the game by thousands of eager Ukrainian gamers. Triolan, as translated by ITC, stated, "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."

The issue persisted for hours, with even those who successfully downloaded the game struggling to log in due to slow loading times. Eventually, the situation was resolved once all interested players had downloaded their copies. GSC Game World, the game's developer, 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!" exclaimed creative director Mariia Grygorovych. She added, "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."

The game's immense popularity was further underscored by its sales figures, reaching 1 million copies sold just two days post-launch. Despite facing performance issues and bugs, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 enjoyed robust sales globally, particularly in Ukraine.

GSC Game World, a Ukrainian studio, operates from two offices, one in Kyiv and another in Prague. The ongoing conflict in Ukraine posed significant challenges, causing multiple delays in the game's release. However, GSC remained committed to launching the game last month in November. The studio is now focused on releasing update patches to address the game's bugs, optimize performance, and fix crashes. Their third major patch was released earlier this week, demonstrating their dedication to improving the player experience.