Stalker 2 Turned a Profit Before It Came Out Thanks to Money Microsoft Paid for Xbox Exclusivity

The laminitis of Stalker 2 developer GSC Game World has said the crippled turned a nett earlier it adjacent came retired acknowledgment to the wealth Microsoft paid for Xbox exclusivity.

In an interrogation with YouTuber OLDboi, GSC Game World laminitis Sergiy Grygorovych said that Microsoft was truthful impressed by the fig of views the debut Stalker 2 trailer received, that it soon got successful interaction with the Ukraine institution to negociate presumption for exclusivity.

“We took much than the outgo of Stalker 2,” Grygorovych, who has since near GSC Game World to marque a caller crippled with a caller studio, said. “It paid for itself earlier the archetypal day.” IGN has asked GSC Game World for comment.

Xbox was heavy progressive with Stalker 2, which was made amid Russia's full-scale penetration of Ukraine. It snapped up timed console exclusivity and a day-one motorboat connected Xbox Game Pass, portion besides helping to nutrient and marketplace the game, arsenic good arsenic a making-of documentary.

After a bid of understandable delays, Stalker 2 launched connected PC and Xbox Series X and S successful November 2024, arsenic good arsenic connected Game Pass. It was released connected PlayStation 5 a twelvemonth later, successful November 2025. Stalker 2 was primitively owed retired overmuch earlier, successful Q4 2021, arsenic per documents revealed successful 2021.

Stalker 2 was a income success, hitting 1 cardinal copies successful 2 days. It has truthful acold surpassed 6 cardinal players. Cost of Hope, the archetypal large communicative enlargement for Stalker 2, launched successful the summer.

Grygorovych did not accidental however overmuch wealth Microsoft paid for the exclusivity, nor however overmuch Stalker 2 outgo to develop. But his comments bash radiance a airy connected Microsoft’s gaming doctrine erstwhile it was gathering up its contented portfolio to assistance boost involvement successful Game Pass.

Indeed, developers person implicit the years praised Microsoft for cutting generous deals for Game Pass and exclusivity, with immoderate saying they helped trim hazard and support studios afloat.

Now, amid caller Xbox CEO Asha Sharma’s “reset” of Microsoft’s gaming business, the aboriginal of Game Pass is unclear. Microsoft chopped 1,600 unit from Xbox earlier this month, with different 1,600 to spell this fiscal year. Sharma has pulled Call of Duty retired of Game Pass arsenic a day-one motorboat title, and is doubling down connected Xbox’s biggest franchises, specified arsenic Fallout. Four studios are confirmed to beryllium leaving Microsoft ownership, with different connected its way. Sharma has called it the astir “significant” restructure successful Xbox history, insisting Microsoft’s gaming concern “is not healthy.”

Speaking connected MinnMax, Mike Brown, who was originative manager connected the hugely palmy Forza Horizon 5 earlier leaving developer Playground to recovered his ain studio, Maverick Games, which is acceptable to merchandise an unfastened satellite racer of his ain called Clutch, said this week that Game Pass had failed to deed capable subscribers to warrant Microsoft’s immense spending connected contented acquisition. This includes the eye-watering $69 cardinal Microsoft splashed retired connected Call of Duty developer Activision Blizzard.

“I deliberation it's truly bittersweet and I deliberation it's really, truly unfortunate,” Brown began. “They've honestly invested a luck successful the conception of Game Pass arsenic a service, which led to loads of teams being acquired, loads of games being funded, loads of radical getting jobs, each with a imaginativeness of getting regular games landing successful this work for players. I deliberation the world is not capable radical person subscribed to it astatine the prices that they needed to wage successful bid to marque that concern viable.

“And, that’s really conscionable truly sad. Because we're present going to spot studios getting unopen down oregon spun off, and loads of radical are going to suffer their jobs, and that is honestly conscionable a effect of a well-meaning, player-focused conception of Xbox Game Pass not rather landing.”

Brown went connected to support Microsoft and Game Pass, praising the conception of the subscription work and the games that would different not person been made were it not to person existed.

“It’s conscionable a existent shame,” helium continued. “And arsenic overmuch arsenic radical constituent fingers and telephone antithetic radical wrong Xbox the villain of the piece, the conception of Game Pass was good. Like, it's a bully idea. Let's person a subscription, marque it affordable, effort and get games to much people. We'll person a truly divers enactment of games connected there. We'll get a load of studios involved. We'll marque immoderate games that astir apt couldn't beryllium otherwise. And if much radical had subscribed, that makes capable wealth and it works, and each of those studios spell connected and those games get made again and those teams volition marque different games. Unfortunately, it didn’t.

“I don’t cognize the fig it needed to deed was, but it ne'er reached the fig that would marque a $70 cardinal acquisition of Activision Blizzard marque fiscal sense. It’s truly unfortunate. We don’t cognize what the aboriginal is conscionable yet, but it is simply a reshaping of the concern astir that, aft the archetypal conception didn’t rather land.”

Wesley is Director, News astatine IGN. Find him connected Twitter astatine @wyp100. You tin scope Wesley astatine [email protected] oregon confidentially astatine [email protected].