Microsoft paid more for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 on Game Pass than it cost to make the game

Update: GSC Game World has since reached out to Gamereactor to share an official statement on Grygorovych's claims below, noting the information shared is "simply not true" and that Grygorovych "was not involved either in negotiations with partners" or "in the actual development of the game". Therefore "his comments regarding the company's activities cannot be considered an accurate reflection of the actual state of affairs."

You can read the full transparent statement below.

"GSC Game World refrained from commenting for a long time on Sergiy Grygorovych's public statements about the company. However, we now consider it necessary to respond, as continued silence may be perceived as confirmation of information that is simply not true.

"In particular, his recent claims, including his statements regarding the relationship between S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 and the Xbox teams, do not reflect the actual facts.

"In accordance with the agreements reached between the parties, Sergiy was not involved either in negotiations with partners regarding S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 or in the actual development of the game throughout its full production cycle. We have always fully honored these agreements on our side. For this reason, his comments regarding the company's activities cannot be considered an accurate reflection of the actual state of affairs.

"The development of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 became one of the most challenging projects in the history of the video game industry. We believe the story of this game should be based on facts, not on assumptions or subjective opinions.

"We are sincerely grateful to everyone who made the game's release possible: the defenders of Ukraine, our players, our partners, and, of course, the company's owner, Max Krippa, who funded the majority of the development budget.

"We hope that such public statements will not distract attention from what truly matters to the team today. GSC Game World is currently putting the finishing touches on a significant update for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2, as well as its first large-scale story DLC. We will be sharing more details very soon."

Original: Ever since brand new games started being added to Game Pass, gamers have been discussing and dissecting the economics behind the service. Why do developers add their games on day one instead of selling them themselves?

Ultimately, it's all about money, and Microsoft provides a lump sum upfront, which serves as a safety net for the studio, allowing it to avoid worrying about how well a game will sell later on. A good example of just how much money can be made comes from the Ukrainian channel OLDboi, where GSC Game World founder Sergiy Grygorovych explains that Microsoft paid more for the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl timed-exclusive deal and for the right to include the game in Game Pass than the game's development actually cost.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl was thus a game that was essentially profitable even before development had even fully commenced. It was after Microsoft took note of how well the title was received following its initial presentation that they decided to quickly finalise the deal.

Today, in addition to PC and Xbox Series S/X, it's also available on PlayStation 5, and there has been speculation about a Switch 2 version.