STALKER 2 developers GSC Game World have partnered with a Ukrainian supermarket chain to open their own store in Kyiv, themed around the upcoming PC game. It features everything you’d expect from a regular store, only with an apocalyptic twist – to the packaging, at least. The store opened just a day after the game developer’s partnership announcement with the popular supermarket chain, much to the delight of Ukrainian gamers, and the confusion of nearly everyone else.
Inside the STALKER supermarket, you’ll find sections dedicated to selling traditional Ukrainian produce, a grocery section, and most exciting (for me, at least) a counter named ‘Vlasna Confectionary’ near the rear that sells food to eat right now. Pizza, coffee and sweets are the wares on offer, and I for one couldn’t think of any better fuel to fight the monstrosities of the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone.
STALKER 2 was to be released this year, but due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, the much-anticipated title had to be pushed back to 2023 while many of the developers relocated to the Czech Republic. I say many of the developers only because some chose to stay to support their country, as detailed here in one of the wildest dev diaries I’ve ever seen – it’s well worth 3 minutes of your time.
There are plans in place to expand on the STALKER theme even further inside the supermarket once the conflict subsides, you can expect to be met with life-size recreations of mutants and more dilapidated decorations to the interior of the building. Also, more food, always more food.
STALKER 2: Heart of Chernobyl is due for release for PC and Xbox in 2023, with no specific date currently set. You can watch the latest trailer for STALKER 2 here to prepare yourself for the horrors that come with massive nuclear fallout – including, unfortunately for us, cats. You might want to check the STALKER 2 system requirements while you’re at it, getting caught short in the dangerous wilderness isn’t a position anyone wants to be in.