The Fate of the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl Release is in the Hands of its New Owner Maksym Krippa

By Alla Mikiyeva | 10.08.2024

Once again, the world of esports has been shaken by the news of the sale of S.T.A.L.K.E.R., or rather not the game itself, but its developer, GSC Game World. The new owner is Ukrainian businessman and investor Maksym Krippa. There has been much buzz around the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. shooter before - fans were eagerly awaiting the release of the new version of the game S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl, and there were rumors that the developer had gone bankrupt and there would be no sequel to the beloved game. So when the news of the change of ownership leaked to the media, it became the most discussed topic among the esports community. The community was divided into two camps - some believed that the new owner might focus on developing and releasing entirely new games, thus burying the possibility of the release of the new version of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl, while others predicted that the opposite would happen - Maksym Krippa investments would help accelerate the release of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl. They argued that it is too expensive to reinvent the wheel, it is much more reasonable to take what has already been successful with fans, upgrade it, and release it to a warmed-up market. This version seems more realistic if you know who Maksym Krippa is.

Maksym Krippa - Who is He and Does S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl Have a Future?

Why did we say that to understand the future of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl, it is necessary to know who Maksym Krippa is? Because to predict the future of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl, a few facts about Maksym Krippa are enough, namely: esports is a topic close to the investor, and the task of representing Ukraine on the world esports stage is obviously important to him. Among his assets is one of the most famous esports clubs, NAVI, which has dozens of victories in world championships, as well as Maincast, an esports event coverage studio that today covers over 60% of the Ukrainian market.

Both of these assets are now in top positions in their segments, though this was not always the case.

2018 was a challenging year for the esports organization NAVI, and its founder Oleksandr "ZeroGravity" Kokhanovskyi openly stated a lack of funds and the need for investments in the club's development. At that time, Maksym Krippa invested in the esports organization NAVI and began developing it, becoming a majority owner. Thanks to his investments, the project for the development of young esports players NAVI Esports Camp and NAVI Academy was launched. At the peak of their form, young players ranked 37th in the HLTV.org ranking.

In 2021, thanks to Maksym Krippa, a high-tech office with gaming penthouses was built, and the organization's staff quadrupled. In 2022, Maksym Krippa became the beneficial owner of the esports club NAVI. That same year, Russia launched a full-scale war in Ukraine. As a result, the club disbanded the Russian roster of PUBG Mobile and Mobile Legends and refused the League of Legends: Wild Rift team as the discipline was unprofitable.

In April, a female CS:GO team NAVI Javelins was formed, which by the end of the year became one of the best in the world and qualified for the first LAN tournament in 2023. A female VALORANT team NAVI Celestials was also assembled. They are currently ranked third in the EMEA region.

As for the Maincast esports event coverage studio - after the full-scale war initiated by Russia against Ukraine in 2022, Maksym Krippa decided to completely refuse Russian advertisers and broadcasts in Russian. The step was risky because, according to Maincast's analytics, before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, 1.2 million viewers watched the tournament in Russian, while only 800 thousand watched it in Ukrainian. Moreover, the rights to broadcast in Russian had already been paid for. But when a neighboring state attacks your country, continuing to broadcast in the language of the aggressor would be too much. Therefore, under the leadership of Maksym Krippa, Maincast refuses the rights to Russian-language broadcasts and purchases the rights to broadcasts exclusively in Ukrainian. At first, the studio suffered significant losses - about two hundred thousand. But thanks to competent management and the team's willingness to work in any conditions, Maincast not only made up for the losses but also emerged as a leader. Today, the studio holds 95% of the rights to broadcasts in Ukrainian and covers 64% of this market. And the number of views of Ukrainian-language esports event broadcasts has increased by 1050% and totals more than 5 million hours.

What is Known About the Release of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl

But let's return to the topic that interests us - will the world see S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl, or will the new investor decide to abandon the release and focus on developing entirely new games?

It must be said that the release of the first part of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. was also long-awaited - fans had been waiting for the game for almost three years. Initially scheduled for release in the fall of 2004, it was released only in 2007. Nevertheless, despite all the delays and difficulties, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. became a landmark first-person shooter, immediately reaching the top of the sales charts.

There is every chance that S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl will be able to repeat the success of the first version. The developers promise 40 hours of the main storyline with the possibility of changing it thanks to non-linear development, which is controlled by the player. Participants will have to play the game with almost no hints, dealing with monsters with artificial intelligence on their own. The developers also promise a large number of weapon modifications. And traditionally - S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl will offer four different endings, each of which players will be able to try.

Forecasts

Despite crisis situations, investor Maksym Krippa has managed not only to keep the assets he acquired afloat but also to bring them to a new level of development, popularity, and recognition. Given the obvious involvement of the investor in esports and the effective transformation of invested money into results, it can be assumed that the GSC Game World company will also receive a second wind, finally presenting fans with the long-awaited game S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl.