Through the thorns to the Monolith. How the legendary S. T. A. L. K. E. R. series was created.

While waiting for the second part, we remember how the iconic franchise was born
For many people, S. T. A. L. K. E. R. is more than a game. More than 12 years have passed since the release of the first part, but fans return to this universe again and again. However, not everyone knows what production hell the GSC Game World Studio had to go through at the time. Today we will tell you about how the legendary franchise was created.

It all started with Olesya Shishkovtsova and Alexander Maksimchuk-programmers who came for an interview at GSC Game World together with X-Ray, their engine for video games. Sergey liked the new technology very much, but at first it was decided to use it to create real-time strategies. Work began on two projects at once: Pilgrims, which combined elements of the shooter with mass battles, and Commandos. Continue reading →