S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl Paid Off Before Its Release—Thanks to a Partnership with Microsoft

In 2024, after years of delays, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl finally arrived. A big part of that came down to a partnership between the developing studio GSC Game World and Microsoft, which fully backed the game's production—and as it turns out, that deal helped the game break even before it even launched.

GSC Game World founder Serhiy Hryhorovych recently spoke with OLDboi, where he revealed more about the partnership between the studio and Microsoft. He claimed that Microsoft representatives were stunned by how many views the debut S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chernobyl's trailer racked up, and that's what led to the future partnership deal. Although he didn't disclose the exact amount, he stated that the Microsoft payment exceeded the game's production costs and secured its financial success before the release even happened. You can check out his comments below:

“We took more than the cost of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl. It paid for itself before the first day. They brought in all the documents for signing in about a week.”

GSC Game World clearly benefited from the deal, and looking back, there's no guarantee S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chernobyl would have hit those numbers without Microsoft's backing. A year after launch, the game had sold 2.9 million copies and brought over $137 million in revenue. The game also launched for PlayStation 5 on November 20, 2025, so those numbers have likely climbed even further since. However, in another interview, Hryhorovych revealed that he personally didn’t receive a single penny from the game's sales. This April, he also announced his departure from GSC Game World and is now working on his own debut project, S.T.R.A.N.G.E.R. Bermuda SOS.

As for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chernobyl itself, GSC Game World is currently working on a story DLC titled Cost of Hope, which is set to release this summer, though its release date is still unknown. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Cost of Hope will introduce a new heroine, Mavka, and bring back at least two familiar faces —Suslov, a scientist from S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky, and General Voronin, who only appeared as a minor character in the second installment. It will also include dozens of gameplay hours, new areas to explore, side quests, and extras like new weapons, gear, and anomalies.