Multiple Stalker 2 Dev Builds Have Seemingly Leaked Online

Stalker 2 has just suffered a massive leak, causing the whole in-development builds to surface online ahead of the official release. The unexpected leak has reportedly emerged on specific a specific torrent site causing some gamers to be excited while others to be wary. Regardless, there is no hope for the anticipating players to relish in the dev builds ahead of the release because encryption is protecting the builds from becoming playable.

Both the Stalker 2 builds seemingly require a lot of disk space to download, needing a whopping 193.82 GB and 193.78 GB respectively just to get the files on your system. Images of both leaked in-development builds—they’ve since been deleted—have also been saved, with many rumors unfolding about the leaks. 

One speculation suggests that the team itself has leaked the title by accidentally setting the files to “public,” as the dev builds—the page has since been deleted—were allegedly created for testers to tinker around the game. If the rumor is to be believed, then the file sizes may have inflated with extra content and tools that could be slashed away in the official release, reducing the disk space requirement.

The other rumor concerning who leaked the dev builds is much more sinister, as it relates to recent threats made by some Russian hackers to leak Stalker 2 files if specific requests were not met. The team was initially blackmailed by the hackers but it did not falter; the studio earlier addressed the impending concerns on its Twitter handle.

A message from GSC Game World team pic.twitter.com/rqRM0tFZmO

— S.T.A.L.K.E.R. OFFICIAL (@stalker_thegame) March 12, 2023

We have faced blackmail, acts of aggression, attempts to hurt players and fans, and efforts to damage the development process of the reputation of our company,” said team concerning the Russian hackers.

Stalker 2 devs further added that we should not form an opinion of the game after seeing the early work-in-progress builds or in-development leaked footage. The team does not want the community to have a diluted impression of the final release and has encouraged fans to be patient and wait for the official release.

Moreover, as the newly-leaked dev builds remain unplayable, it will likely not impact Stalker 2’s remaining development time. In fact, the large file size conveys that the development could finally be near completion after many delays and hiccups over the years. The team has suffered a constant barrage of harassment and cyber attacks over the years, as it continued to develop the upcoming Stalker sequel despite the Russian-Ukraine war.

During these uneasy times, the GSC Game World team also had to make a decision and update the price of the Stalker 2 Ultimate Edition earlier this year to keep up with the changing economy. Regardless, the other editions have kept the previous price as the team has tried its best to keep the next-gen post-apocalyptic nuclear fallout experience accessible to the majority of the fans.

The entry is set to release in December 2023 on PC and Xbox Series X. Regardless, a PlayStation 5 release may also arrive later down the road. Previously, rumors have also suggested that another delay may be on the horizon since pre-orders have also been canceled in the past, causing many to be worried about an impending delay; things have since progressed smoothly despite the bad actors’ fallacious attempts to disturb the development.

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