STALKER 2's launch was so huge in Ukraine that it caused internet outages

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Important takeaways

  • STALKER 2 caused internet blackouts in Ukraine due to its overwhelming popularity.
  • The ongoing war with Russia may have exacerbated the internet problems.
  • Despite positive reviews, STALKER 2 is considered buggy due to various issues.



A new report suggests so STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl was so popular in Ukraine that it caused some internet outages for a few hours. STALKER 2 is one of the biggest games made by a Ukrainian developer in years, so it's understandable that it would attract a lot of attention in the country.

STALKER 2 was originally announced by GSC Game World back in 2010, but was eventually cancelled. The project restarted in 2018, and the popular FPS was finally released on November 20, 2024. Despite being available on services like Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, STALKER 2 sold over 1.4 million copies on Steam in just four days and was considered a huge hit.


How to get Weird Bolt Artifact in Stalker 2

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Stalker 2: How To Get The Weird Bolt Artifact

Players who dare to venture into the Tornado Anomaly in Yaniv will return with a legendary Weird Bolt artifact in Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl.

It seems though STALKER 2The success caused internet outages in Ukraine, affecting several cities for five or six hours during the day of the game's release. These issues seemingly varied in severity, with several people having major issues with network stability and internet connection speed during the event. According to ITC, reports from two local ISPs, Tenet and Triolan, confirmed that the problem was caused by the huge number of people downloading the popular FPS at the same time. Speaking to Eurogamer, GSC Game World's creative director Mariia Gryogorovych acknowledged the situation and said it was difficult to see the country having internet problems during such a difficult time, but was also impressed with the launch.


STALKER 2's launch caused internet outages in Ukraine

While STALKER 2 had a huge launch, it is also likely that the ongoing war with Russia exacerbated the problems. Ever since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the country has struggled to keep its infrastructure functioning due to damage caused by the conflict. However, this is not the only time the war with Russia affected the game. Last week it was claimed in reports STALKER 2 reviewed bombed by Russians who were paid to tarnish the game's image.


In general, however, applies STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl has received positive reviews, and currently holds a score of 74 on OpenCritic. Although most critics like the game, there is also agreement that it is quite broken and some systems do not work well.

Among the most notable bugged features of the STALKER 2 is the A-Life 2.0 system, which simulates more realistic NPCs. Recently, STALKER 2 developers revealed why A-Life does not work, explaining that some sacrifices had to be made to optimize the game, and A-Life was too demanding on performance.

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