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[Draugoth]

viaTheGamer​

Through it all, GSC Game World has been able to set its own release dates. Despite a deal with Xbox that will make Stalker 2 a temporary Xbox console exclusive and available on Game Pass, Microsoft has never demanded a particular release window.

As soon as I allude to the Xbox deal, PR manager Zakhar Bocharov hops in, eager to praise the company:

“You're not gonna believe this answer because it sounds like a total marketing answer, but Microsoft doesn't put any demands in terms of the release date or the content,” says Bocharov. “They're not our publishers. It's just the Game Pass deal.

“Personally, I never expected a corporation of this size to be so supportive,” he continues. “I can’t say the exact cases, but they helped in situations where they were not exactly supposed to. So they could easily [have said], ‘No, that's not on us. That's with you guys. Good luck. Figure it out’.”

In particular, Bocharov is confident that Xbox president Sarah Bond is personally a fan of the game, and also praises head of games Phil Spencer for being “very supportive and caring” towards the team.

“I never expected a corporation to be this close to the developers who are in a bad situation,” says Bocharov. “It was spectacular. That's the professional connection we value a lot, because it would have been much different without them.”

 

[Bry0]

That’s good. Let them cook, it will pay off.

 

[Ulysses 31]

That’s good. Let them cook, it will pay off.

And even if it doesn't, modders might make it great like they did with Shadow of Chernobyl.

 

[Little Chicken]

Saint Sarah Bond

 

[FoxMcChief]

Damn you Phil Spencer!!!

 

[adamsapple]

Good, the last thing they would have needed is any kind of pressure in the situation they were in.

 

[twilo99]

good guy phil

 

[Gamer_By_Proxy]

ehhh so Phil isn't Satan. Who in their right minds would give them a hard deadline while some of them are getting killed in war?

 

[Zathalus]

Of course they didn’t. Other then the fact that the situation is pretty unique, can you imagine the news if it came out that Microsoft wasn’t supportive?

 

[Wandering Leopard]

This can be both good and bad, depends entirely on the leaders of the dev team.

 

[adamsapple]

This can be both good and bad, depends entirely on the leaders of the dev team.

The gamescom coverage has almost unanimously been positive, so it seemed to have worked out for the better.

 

[mayham2199]

I mean MS can't put a deadline on them. Like the guy said it's just a GP deal MS isnt the publisher.

 

[Neilg]

Of course they didn’t. Other then the fact that the situation is pretty unique, can you imagine the news if it came out that Microsoft wasn’t supportive?

The absolute PR shitstorm of MS going 'yeah I know your country is now at war and some of your staff were killed in it, but can you hurry it up a bit for the shareholders?'

 

[Mr Reasonable]

I mean MS can't put a deadline on them. Like the guy said it's just a GP deal MS isnt the publisher.

They could easily say that they need the game by a particular date to fit with their Gamepass schedule or they don't want it and cancel the deal.

 

[adamsapple]

They could easily say that they need the game by a particular date to fit with their Gamepass schedule or they don't want it and cancel the deal.

Not just that, going by the GSC guys, MS has been helping out elsewhere where they don't need to.

“Personally, I never expected a corporation of this size to be so supportive,” he continues. “I can’t say the exact cases, but they helped in situations where they were not exactly supposed to. So they could easily [have said], ‘No, that's not on us. That's with you guys. Good luck. Figure it out’.”

He doesn't go into specifics but I'm guessing he's probably talking about things like QA and stuff.