There are 24 new screenshots of Stalker 2, which show the game in a presumably older version. The leak is meant to encourage fans not to buy the shooter role-playing game. However, fans are enthusiastic about the images.
What happened? In the past few days, pro-Russian hackers have hacked a working account of Stalker developer GSC Gameworlds. Thus, they gained access to over 30 gigabytes of video, image and code material. The threat was that they would leak the material in full. Online, many speak of motivations such as money or pure dislike, but the hackers’ motivation is not really known. However, the attempt to persuade players not to buy the game by showing screenshots from earlier development phases has probably failed.
New images of Stalker 2 look stunning – hackers, that was probably a shot in the oven
On reddit, fans of Stalker shared the new leaked images of Stalker 2, with some users writing that the game doesn’t look as good as it did on previous promo material. However, others are quick to enlighten these users about the course of a game’s development and insist: these images are older.
The reason for the assumption is partly not textured or even modeled objects and buildings. It seems that the pictures are from a phase of greyboxing (via jackw-gamedesign.com). Greyboxing is a method used by game developers to test level layouts or to roughly mark them out. Instead of houses, fences, boxes and so on, placeholders are placed — the greyboxes. The name has a simple origin; grey boxes are placed. However, greyboxing happens in a quite early phase of development. So you can test out mechanics without having completed thousands of assets.
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What do the pictures show? The new screenshots from the latest leak of Stalker 2 show various impressions of the game world, both day and night. Primarily you can see factory grounds and settlements. The lighting effects in particular catch our eye. During the day, they look incredibly realistic, soft light is shone on objects, which in turn reflect it correctly and color the environment accordingly:
At dusk, a reddish glow settles on the buildings, reflecting in puddles and casting long shadows. Not only realistic as. Damn beautiful to boot! Did the hackers expect this?
In the following gallery you can see and admire all the other screenshots.
Community supports developers: “Do they think I won’t buy it now?”
On reddit, the fans of Stalker 2 not only talk about the direct support for the developers, but also question the intentions of the hackers. For example, most assume that “bad” screenshots are meant to keep many people from buying. Redditor u/renophillydayman finds clear words for this:
The big bad Russian leakers who think showing this off is gonna make me not want the game? Bad news fellas, makes me want it even more.
But what’s your take on it? How do you feel about the leak and do previews make you no longer want to buy Stalker 2? Feel free to share your opinion with us in the comments or join our social media.
