GSC Game World denies founder's claim that Xbox exclusivity deal covered Stalker 2's entire dev cost

GSC Game World has publicly pushed back against statements made by studio founder Sergiy Grygorovych, who claimed Microsoft paid more than the total cost of making Stalker 2 to secure a timed Xbox exclusivity deal. The studio says his comments "do not reflect the actual facts."

In an interview with YouTuber OLDboi, Grygorovych — who left GSC in 2023 — alleged that the Xbox exclusivity money exceeded Stalker 2's full development budget, and that the game "paid for itself before the first day" of release. He also claimed Microsoft came to GSC after being impressed by the game's first trailer. GSC responded via a statement to IGN, saying Grygorovych "was not involved either in negotiations with partners regarding Stalker 2 or in the actual development of the game throughout its full production cycle." The studio added that the majority of Stalker 2's development budget was actually funded by current company owner, Ukrainian entrepreneur Max Krippa.

GSC's public rebuttal is notable because the studio had previously stayed quiet on Grygorovych's various public statements since his departure. The studio explained that continued silence "may be perceived as confirmation of information that is simply not true" — hence the decision to respond now. Stalker 2 launched in November 2024 as a timed Xbox and PC exclusive before arriving on PS5 roughly a year later, so the existence of some kind of exclusivity arrangement with Microsoft was never in doubt. What's disputed is the scale and nature of that deal.

GSC says the team is currently working on a significant update and the game's first story-focused DLC expansion. No release window for either was given.