Russian gamers interested in ‘S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl’ could risk treason charges to buy an FPS its developer won’t even sell in Russia

Russia’s parliament is warning the public that it might criminalize the distribution of a highly anticipated Ukrainian video game. This week, Anton Gorelkin, who serves as the deputy head of the State Duma’s Information Policy Committee, told the media that “S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl” could be banned in Russia, though he stressed that the developers’ support for the Ukrainian military wouldn’t be sufficient cause to prohibit the game. Meduza reviews what could become of Ukraine’s blockbuster horror game after its long-awaited release later this month.

The Russian authorities say they will act based on the content of the game itself, and early in-game footage screened for reviewers in October did not reveal anything that would obviously constitute “extremism” for censors. However, despite its beloved franchise and source material, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 nevertheless faces an uphill battle to gain popularity in Russia.

The design studio GSC Game World has erected its own obstacles to S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2’s distribution in Russia, refusing to sell the game there officially and removing the game’s Russian language track (though Russian subtitles are still available).

Lawyer Mikhail Mushailov warns that purchasing S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 could expose gamers to felony prosecution in Russia, given the country’s current legal climate and how easy it would be for police to “prove” that a customer knew the design studio donates financially to Ukraine’s Armed Forces. 

Besides public pleas to support Ukraine’s war effort, GSC Game World raised $800,000 for the Ukrainian charity Come Back Alive, which provides the army with equipment, drones, and medical supplies. Meanwhile, the studio hasn’t said if it plans to donate any of its S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 profits to the Ukrainian military.

Since the start of the invasion, Russia’s Prosecutor General has threatened to bring treason charges against anyone who supports or finances Ukrainian NGOs, and the agency recently outlawed the Come Back Alive Foundation specifically as an “undesirable organization.”

GSC Game World describes S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl as a “unique action experience of survival in the post-apocalyptic Chornobyl Exclusion Zone.” Gamers are invited to take a “non-linear journey through a sinister open world in the Eastern European post-apocalyptic setting.”

The game has been stuck in development for more than a decade and has endured multiple apparent cancelations. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 was originally scheduled for 2021, but six delays (partly due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine) pushed the final release date to November 20, 2024, available initially on PC and Xbox exclusively. Last week, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 presales lifted the game to 16th place on Steam’s top sellers list.