Maxim Krippa, who became the owner of the GSC Game World studio, replacing its founder Serhiy Grigorovich, gave an interview in which he spoke about the financial success of STALKER 2, plans for the project’s development, and a potential series from Netflix.
Maxim Krippa, who became the owner of the GSC Game World studio, replacing its founder Serhiy Grigorovich, gave an interview in which he spoke about the financial success of STALKER 2, plans for the project’s development, and a potential series from Netflix.
Krippa said he couldn’t share exact numbers, but he recalled that in the first 36 hours after the release of STALKER 2, it sold over 1 million copies. He said this in an interview with Forbes Ukraine.
«The release of STALKER 2 was a real breakthrough. For us, it is not only a commercial success, but also a huge cultural achievement. STALKER 2 has become a symbol of Ukrainian creativity and resilience,» said Maksym Krippa.
He named Yevgen (CEO of GSC Studio and game director of STALKER 2) and Maria (creative director) Grigorovich as the key creators of the project, who «were involved in all operational and organizational processes.» In total, about 470 people are already working on the project; 270 of them are in Ukraine. According to Krippa, when he joined the company in 2020, the team consisted of 65 people .
The owner of GSC Game World did not disclose the budget for STALKER 2 and the amount of investment, but noted that «it is tens of millions of dollars.» According to him, after the agreement was signed in 2020, the development of the game was financed entirely with his own funds.
«We have already sold enough to bring the project to profit. Before the release, the team worked almost 24/7. They lived for this project, especially against the backdrop of the war. We wanted to give the country hope and pride, to show everyone that Ukrainians can do projects of such a high level,» said Maksym Krippa.
He added that the developers were aware that the game might contain minor, non-critical bugs, but it had to be released on November 20th without delay, otherwise the team would have completely burned out. «Bugs can be fixed, but bad game and gameplay can never be,» the owner of GSC believes.
Earlier, Yevgeny Grigorovich admitted that he expected much worse user reviews on Steam for STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl, given the technical state of the game at release. He said that he aims to raise the rating to 90% positive reviews.
In his opinion, STALKER 2 has the potential to become a national pride for Ukraine, like The Witcher (books and video games) for Poles. Krippa noted that he would like the Ukrainian game to also receive a series from Netflix, and certain negotiations are already underway on this, but the issue has not yet been finally resolved.
Previously, Vyacheslav Yezhov, brother of STALKER Clear Sky developer Vladimir «Fresh» Yezhov, who died in 2022 near Bakhmut while defending Ukraine from the Russian invasion, said that he would be grateful for how STALKER 2 promotes Ukrainian culture.
«We don’t make specific predictions, because life always makes its own adjustments, but we believe in the long and successful future of this product.»
«STALKER 2 is not just a game, it’s a project with great potential,» said Maksym Krippa.
He said that the developers plan to release at least two DLCs, add multiplayer, and release the game on «other platforms.»
«Time will tell what the results will be, but our goal is to do everything possible to keep the game alive, and we hope that players will return to it for many years to come,» the owner of GSC noted.
Maxim Krippa is the ultimate beneficiary of the NAVI esports organization and has a stake (25%) in Maincast, a company engaged in esports broadcasting.
Forbes has published a number of articles over the past year that have featured Krippa. They have alleged that he has ties to the online casino chain Vulcan and the betting company GGBet. GGBET denies Krippa’s involvement with the company and provides relevant arguments.
