STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl is one of those games that managed to recover its development budget even before it reached players.
Well, thanks to Xbox and the exclusive deal it made with the development studio.
STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl had already recovered its development costs before it reached players, according to GSC Game World’s founder, offering a rare glimpse into the economics behind modern platform exclusivity deals.
Speaking in a recent interview with YouTuber OLDboi, GSC Game World founder Sergiy Grygorovych revealed Microsoft came with a deal they simply couldn’t refuse.
The Redmond giant paid more than Stalker 2’s entire budget in exchange for Xbox console exclusivity.
Microsoft announced STALKER 2 as a timed Xbox console exclusive and a day-one Xbox Game Pass release in 2021.
Stalker 2 eventually released in 2024 but the investments and decision making from Microsoft has come under scrutiny even since major studio closures started. »