How the builders of Stalker 2 weathered the Ukraine struggle to make their recreation | The DeanBeat

If anybody can say they’ve had challenges making a recreation, the workforce making S.T.A.L.Ok.E.R 2: The Coronary heart of Chornobyl could make that declare. And if it ships the sport to customers on November 20, that will probably be a victory in itself.

But the builders of GSC Sport World in Kyiv, Ukraine need to ship this recreation to indicate that they by no means gave up on a challenge that has been getting in full gear for practically seven years and talked about even longer. They haven’t given up despite the fact that the workforce was disrupted when Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale struggle on February 24, 2022. Russia had attacked earlier than in 2014, seizing a few territories. However this was a struggle for management of all of Ukraine, and the struggle continues to this present day.

Builders needed to go away to go to struggle. The electrical energy frequently went out and it nonetheless goes out in Kyiv, the place the majority of the workforce is. Missiles frequently rained down on town they usually nonetheless do, with anti-missile rockets intercepting the incoming missiles earlier than they’ll do hurt.

If and after they ship their recreation, they need to be an inspiration for an trade that has had suffered via layoffs, declining gross sales, a pandemic, social media hate, and extra prior to now few years. If GSC Sport World can get this accomplished, then others can overcome their hurdles too, similar to these Ukraine athletes who received the medals for his or her nation within the Olympics.

I spoke with Ievgen Grygorovych, CEO of GSC Sport World, and Maria Grygorovych, artistic director at Gamescom. They’re a husband-and-wife workforce, working one in all Ukraine’s largest and finest recognized recreation corporations with 460 staff. But they’re simply an indie recreation studio. They unfold out into new places equivalent to Poland and Prague and elsewhere, with some working distant.

Ievgen’s brother Sergiy began GSC Sport World in 1995 as an organization that localized video games to the Russian market. It went on to create the Cossacks sequence of video games, and it started growing and publishing its personal in addition to third-party video games. Ievgen joined the corporate in 2001.

S.T.A.L.Ok.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl got here out in 2007 and it was successful as a first-person shooter. It mixed concepts from the novel Roadside Picnic with the actual world catastrophe of the Chornobyl nuclear meltdown, positing that this created a Zone the place hunters often called Stalkers may go to search out anomalous treasures. However they ran the danger of working into enemies together with monsters unleashed by the radioactive contamination.

Two extra Stalker video games got here out in 2008 and 2009, however none was known as Stalker 2. In reality, the prior CEO, who was Ievgen’s brother, requested him to make Stalker 2 and Ievgen stated no as a result of he didn’t suppose the workforce was able to tackle such an enormous challenge. The corporate introduced Stalker 2 in 2012, however that workforce by no means completed and it was rebooted altogether afterward.

Ievgen ultimately relented. “It was a crazy business decision to start this project, but we were sure that we would do everything possible,” Ievgen Grygorovych stated in our interview.

Abandoning earlier instructions, they created a plan and constructed a brand new workforce. They labored on getting the script proper from the beginning. After six rewrites, they lastly began transferring ahead.

Even with out these exterior challenges, the sport was formidable, even for builders who had been engaged on video games for many years. The workforce began with new expertise. They got here up with an inventory of duties and broke it down into tons of of hundreds of duties, Ievgen Grygorovych stated. By the top of the method, a lot of their relations misplaced family members within the struggle.

One Stalker 2 developer, Volodymyr Yezhov, was killed within the struggle with Russia. In December 2022, he died in a battle close to Bakhmut, defending town from Russian attackers. GSC Gameworld has made quite a few donations to explanation for Ukraine and it solicits funds from guests to its website online as nicely.

Throughout all this time, they by no means thought of shutting down the sport. They felt like a accountability towards their nation to get it accomplished, to place Ukraine on the map of the sport growth world. Once they noticed their countrymen and ladies win medals on the Summer season Olympics, they have been proud, they usually need the nation to be happy with their work on Stalker 2 — even to the purpose of utilizing the Ukrainian model of the spelling of Chornobyl (as an alternative of the Russian Chernobyl).

It’s been a tough highway and the longest journey. With some pleasure, the Stalker 2 leaders joined an image with the Xbox European recreation dev workforce in Cologne, Germany. What’s their final lesson? In recreation growth, it’s a must to actually love the method, Maria Grygorovych stated.

Right here’s an edited transcript of our interview. Disclosure: Devcom paid my the place to Cologne, the place I moderated a few panels on the Devcom developer occasion.

GamesBeat: How do you keep resilient sufficient to do that for such a very long time?

Ievgen Grygorovych: It’s a tough challenge for us. It’s large. We began from scratch. We began with new expertise. We began earlier than the present era of consoles appeared. We began with a principally new workforce. We had a complete lack of expertise within the transfer to consoles. We have been a PC-only recreation developer earlier than. It was a loopy enterprise determination to begin this challenge, however we have been certain that we’d do every thing attainable. We had quite a lot of expertise making video games. I’ve about 24 years making video games.

Previously we have been requested at totally different instances to make a Stalker 2. All of the earlier instances I refused to begin making it, as a result of it’s a really formidable challenge. The participant expectations can be very excessive. It might be a really lengthy journey, a really arduous journey. Whenever you’re not very younger and also you perceive what that’s going to be like, the way you’d should work and the way tense it could be, it’s arduous to say, “Yes, I’m ready to do that.” Whenever you’re younger and skilled you don’t know what you’ll should undergo making this sort of recreation. You’re extra prone to say sure.

The final time, we talked with Maria and we determined it was time to do it. We began from that time. It’s been an enormous a part of our lifetime. From what I can see now, it’s going to be an excellent recreation. We’re pleased with what we may obtain. We didn’t count on that we’d do it, however we did it. We’re nonetheless a bit nervous. You by no means know the way gamers are going to take your recreation. However inside me I feel that we’ve accomplished every thing attainable in our state of affairs.

We’re an unbiased developer. We now have quite a lot of limitations that different builders may not have. We now have all of the conditions related to the struggle with Russia. With all these difficulties, we’ve nonetheless come thus far the place we’re close to the discharge. It’s been a protracted journey.

GamesBeat: How lengthy have you ever labored on Stalker?

Maria Grygorovych: For me it’s been since 2017.

Ievgen Grygorovych: Sure, the identical for me.

GamesBeat: The primary set of video games, the primary three video games, did you’re employed on these?

Ievgen Grygorovych: I used to be working with the corporate, however on totally different video games at that time. I hadn’t been engaged on Stalker. However we sat simply close by. I used to be within the RTS growth division, main the RTS line. I’ve been with GSC since 2001. I had labored there part-time earlier than, however 2001 is after I joined up as a full-time job.

Maria Grygorovych: I labored in cinema and TV earlier than I joined GSC. In 2016 they requested me to assist out for a few days. It’s been eight years since. I used to be a producer on some initiatives at first.

Ievgen Grygorovych: She had expertise that might assist us with video games that have been approaching launch.

GamesBeat: When you concentrate on how lengthy it’s been, do you consider it as sure phases? Altering instructions or engaged on various things. How do you clarify the time concerned?

Ievgen Grygorovych: There’s a sure diploma of uncertainty right here. Once we began, we didn’t have a blueprint for growing these sorts of video games. We began by writing a brand new plot and story. At first we needed to collect the workforce that may do that challenge. The primary large discover was a narrative author. We discovered somebody with quite a lot of expertise within the growth trade in Ukraine. He has rather more expertise than I do. We acquired began engaged on the story, and after we appeared on the first idea, we stated, “No, this isn’t Stalker 2.” We moved away from that and began once more.

Ultimately it was absolutely rewritten about six instances. These are lengthy tales. He’s an expert. He wasn’t afraid to drop all of it and begin once more. After these six instances, we had the story we needed to inform with our recreation. We have been pleased with it. It was very detailed. The entire historical past of this world, ranging from 1960 till the sport begins. That was the place we may begin.

Then we took on constructing the world map. We knew it could be an open world, however how large? Is it 16 sq. kilometers or 64? It was slightly loopy. We determined to do one thing greater than everybody normally does. We did eight kilometers on a facet, 64 sq. kilometers. It has quite a lot of underground places as nicely, quite a lot of tall buildings. There are areas above and beneath. General, the realm is large.

Maria Grygorovych: I don’t suppose we actually developed this recreation any greater than anybody normally does. A variety of corporations have rather more expertise. They’ve their workforce constructed from the start. They’ve some huge cash. They don’t have any points with a struggle occurring, something like that. They usually nonetheless work on a recreation for six or seven years. In our case, we began this recreation from scratch with a completely new workforce. We had corona, struggle, issues with the electrical energy. Half of our workforce has had quite a lot of hassle with the electrical energy for the previous two years. They’ll’t work correctly on daily basis. With all these points, we’re nonetheless near launch. A variety of corporations take that a lot time with none of those points.

GamesBeat: I keep in mind Stalker 2 being introduced a very long time in the past. How lengthy has this challenge taken?

Maria Grygorovych: There was a reset, so this has been about six years. This has a completely totally different workforce, a completely totally different strategy. Nothing is similar.

GamesBeat: You talked about there have been different video games, however nothing you regarded as Stalker 2. What did it imply to you to have one thing that may very well be known as Stalker 2?

Ievgen Grygorovych: I actually love my earlier video games. A few of them have been very profitable. Some weren’t so profitable from a participant’s perspective, however they have been profitable for us as expertise in making one thing distinctive. For me, I can say that Stalker 2 is one thing completely epic. Beforehand I had expertise with RPGs, with turn-based technique, and with a mixture of RTS and RPG. A few of these have been very totally different, very experimental initiatives. It wasn’t simply copy-paste. Stalker 2 was simpler than that in a means, as a result of we had Stalker to begin from. The brand new recreation needs to be a successor, persevering with what we had within the first recreation.

We had some foundation for the gameplay design, a blueprint for what we needed to obtain. In that sense it was simpler. However having completely new expertise, a completely open world and so forth, that was an enormous problem. Making a really large recreation sounds troublesome, however like all troublesome job, you possibly can break it down into smaller duties, after which it is going to be easy. You simply should do tons of and hundreds of easy duties. It simply takes quite a lot of time. You need to be a really calm individual to work six years with out having a product you possibly can share. It’s a lot simpler to do quick initiatives, the place you will have one thing to launch after a cycle of, say, two years.

Maria Grygorovych: In recreation growth you really want to like the method. Actual satisfaction will come after these six years. You must love the method that leads as much as that. You may have a few youngsters in that a lot time. If you really want to have that satisfaction instantly, you may not need to go into recreation growth. You must be a affected person individual.

Ievgen Grygorovych: I like the method of growth, fixing these duties.

Maria Grygorovych: You must love and respect the individuals you’re employed with, in case you’re going to spend so a few years with the identical individuals.

GamesBeat: I’m in a science fiction e-book membership. I learn Roadside Picnic, and I used to be astonished by how totally different it was from Stalker. Do you see any resemblance to that authentic materials?

Ievgen Grygorovych: We truly didn’t have a goal to make a recreation by the e-book. It’s very totally different, as you say. We reside in a completely new time. There’s quite a lot of new science fiction now. Sport design is rather more superior. We will’t simply make good science fiction. We now have to make a superb recreation. The story must drive that recreation. We weren’t aiming to make it by the e-book.

GamesBeat: It looks like the Zone is likely to be the one factor that’s nonetheless there from the e-book. The thought of a particular place on the planet that’s very totally different.

Ievgen Grygorovych: The largest factor that Stalker 2 takes from the e-book is the thought of those anomalies, sure. They’ve unknown origins. Should you haven’t examined it, you don’t know the way they work. Lots of people have died to know how these anomalies work within the recreation world, simply as within the e-book. The thought of artifacts, gadgets have some unknown impact that additionally needs to be found. And the thought of an object you employ to search out the anomalies.

Every little thing else is totally different. It’s a special location, about 100 kilometers away from our residence in Kyiv. It’s an actual place, and it’s an enormous catastrophe after the Chornobyl accident. It has quite a lot of connection to our private tales. I used to be born within the yr of the nuclear catastrophe. Our mother and father may inform by the earth shaking that one thing was taking place, however the authorities didn’t inform them something. Nonetheless, everybody may see that one thing was taking place. They determined to maneuver me and my brother away from Kyiv to a different a part of Ukraine, to Donetsk, with my grandparents. It’s very related to what occurred in our lives. Ranging from this a part of the world, it’s logical for us as Ukrainian builders.

However briefly, it’s very totally different from the e-book. It’s influenced by our experiences, private experiences, and a few options from the e-book. That’s the way you get the sport.

GamesBeat: The struggle got here to disrupt every thing. What needed to change for you? What did it’s a must to do to adapt as soon as that began?

Ievgen Grygorovych: The quick reply is that every thing modified. But it surely’s totally different once you take a look at the workforce’s private lives, our private lives, how we reside, our objectives, our pursuits. For the event, it was a really arduous second. However we have been ready. We had ready every thing in order to not let this have an effect on, as a lot as attainable, our workforce’s lives, their households’ lives. We have been prepared for evacuation earlier than the struggle began, and we did it.

Maria Grygorovych: Nonetheless, it’s a completely totally different life from the day earlier than the struggle began. Emotionally, for everybody – everybody in Ukraine, everybody on our workforce – it’s some extent the place you perceive won’t ever be the identical once more. At some factors it’s arduous to work, emotionally. You see tragedy taking place on daily basis, each couple of days. It’s a regular factor for missiles to hit Kyiv close to our workplace. It was actually scary to start with, and it’s nonetheless actually scary now. You may’t adapt for moments like that.

Ievgen Grygorovych: What occurs if it drops 100 meters, 500 meters away from the goal and it hits your workplace, together with your individuals there? What are you going to do at that second? It’s very tense. We did every thing attainable. We now have a bunker simply close to our workplace. It’s an precise bunker constructed for nuclear assault. We’ve requested everybody to go there when there are missile alarms. However nonetheless, there’s an opportunity it may occur.

Maria Grygorovych: And generally a very fast missile strike can occur earlier than the alarms sound. 

Ievgen Grygorovych: It may be a four-minute missile.

Maria Grygorovych: However you could work, so that you simply work. It’s arduous to clarify to somebody what it’s prefer to work like that, or what you’re feeling. A variety of our family, individuals in our households have died within the struggle. It is likely to be your brother, your mom. A few of our individuals have misplaced their mother and father. After that you simply go into work and get again to the sport. Should you’re doing one thing, it’s slightly simpler to maintain from going loopy. However on the similar time, it’s been two and a half years. It’ll be three years quickly.

For the individuals who moved to Prague, it’s not the identical as being the standard form of immigrant, the place you resolve to go someplace that you simply need to go, and you’ll return residence everytime you need. It’s totally different being a refugee. It’s not your determination to depart your nation. It’s one thing you needed to do to guard your self, to guard your youngsters or your loved ones. It’s arduous.

GamesBeat: Did it’s a must to cease work collectively for some period of time?

Maria Grygorovych: It was virtually two months. 

GamesBeat: Did you take into account transferring from Kyiv, going additional west?

Maria Grygorovych: From late December 2021 we have been planning for what we’d do if an actual struggle began. What staff ought to do. Russia had already attacked Ukraine in 2014, nevertheless it was only some territories. Now we have been planning for a struggle that may have an effect on the entire nation.

GamesBeat: Did you lose quite a lot of workers who enlisted or have been conscripted?

Maria Grygorovych: Sure. It’s an honor to contemplate them our pals and colleagues. None of them have been skilled troopers. They have been programmers, QA, group managers who determined, even earlier than the full-fledged invasion, that if it occurred they’d enlist. They went to the recruiting facilities on the primary day to battle for our nation.

Ievgen Grygorovych: They’re nonetheless our staff.

Maria Grygorovych: After our victory, I hope they’ll come again and maintain working.

GamesBeat: Have any of them been capable of come again but?

Ievgen Grygorovych: No, they’re nonetheless preventing. There’s virtually no strategy to cease for now.

GamesBeat: Did you ever take into consideration stopping the sport, shutting down the challenge?

Maria Grygorovych: No, that was by no means an choice. It was only a matter of taking a look at every subject and determining the right way to clear up it.

Ievgen Grygorovych: It is a arduous challenge, nevertheless it’s a weapon towards Russia. When Ukrainians could make one thing so large, so recognized to the world, it’s a strategy to battle on the inventive entrance. We’re not risking our lives, however we’re doing one thing to separate Ukraine from Russia, to focus on Ukraine. These are various things. We’re speaking about what’s taking place in our nation. We received’t let the remainder of the world overlook in regards to the struggle. It’s nonetheless occurring. If we fail, it’s going to be dangerous for everybody who lives in western Europe and the remainder of the world. We’re retaining Russia out of regular life in Europe. We’re doing it by highlighting the struggle with what we do, with our interviews, with no matter methods we’ve.

GamesBeat: Should you stopped work in Ukraine, Ukraine would turn out to be weaker. By persevering with this work, it seems like you possibly can assist maintain Ukraine robust

Ievgen Grygorovych: Like our sportsmen profitable medals on the Olympics. They’re additionally preventing for our nation another way, utilizing the strengths they’ve.

Maria Grygorovych: Whenever you do one thing with quite a lot of love and soul–our dream is that lots of people will love this recreation. They’ll perceive that we exist. Ukraine exists. Ukraine can create these items, convey life to nice video games. Like CD Projekt has accomplished for Poland. Lots of people world wide know of Poland due to CD Projekt. 

Ievgen Grygorovych: We’re bringing Ukraine to your PC display screen.

Maria Grygorovych: However not in an aggressive means. Throughout the recreation we’re not making an attempt to make an apparent assertion towards Russia. We need to present like to our tradition and convey that to gamers world wide.

GamesBeat: You’ve drawn quite a lot of assist from gamers. Is there something notably memorable you’ve seen?

Ievgen Grygorovych: We now have lots of people defending us. When somebody who isn’t similar to you is keen to defend you, to talk for you – “Don’t worry that they changed the release date. These guys are going through a lot.” – for me it’s a means they assist us. It’s not simply individuals who may purchase our recreation when it releases. They’re preventing for us. That’s been vital to me.

Maria Grygorovych: I’ve seen individuals publish some humorous memes. “A developer announces that they’re going to be late because of the coronavirus. Stalker developers: ‘Hold my beer.’”

GamesBeat: As you come towards the end line, what are some stuff you’re nonetheless engaged on? Is there a special feeling now that a number of the most troublesome work is behind you?

Ievgen Grygorovych: There’s going to be an enormous sigh of aid after the discharge. However earlier than that, it’s nonetheless arduous. At this level I can say that quite a lot of the gamers who’ve performed the sport like it. We now have that proof that we put collectively a superb design and did good work. It’s a lot simpler to complete the sport when you already know that you simply’ve reached a superb ambiance and a superb problem for the gamers. It’s a lot simpler to complete a recreation like this when you get it to gamers they usually can check it and inform you what’s good.

GamesBeat: Are you on the level the place you’re getting quite a lot of suggestions from testing?

Ievgen Grygorovych: We nonetheless don’t have it within the arms of the entire viewers. It’s exterior QA, QC, individuals at our writer. However they agree on quite a lot of issues. We all know that there will probably be at the least some individuals who suppose the identical means.

Maria Grygorovych: Generally, as a developer, you will get within the mindset that it’s actually dangerous, it’s a catastrophe, there’s no means you possibly can present it to anybody. Then somebody performs it and says, “It’s so cool!” Possibly it’s good in spite of everything? I don’t know many different builders, however inside our firm we at all times need to do an increasing number of. We’ll positively maintain working after the discharge to maintain working towards what we need to do. We’ve constructed a universe. There’s not likely some extent the place you possibly can say you’re accomplished and that’s all. We will maintain bringing extra into this world.

Ievgen Grygorovych: We now have quite a lot of concepts for issues we needed to do in Stalker 2 that we determined ought to wait till after launch. We nonetheless have quite a lot of issues we need to add to the sport. Launch day isn’t the purpose the place we’ll cease making the sport. It’s simply the purpose the place gamers will get it and begin giving us suggestions. We’ll begin speaking with gamers in regards to the recreation design.

Maria Grygorovych: There are some options you possibly can launch with out and it’s completely okay, however you continue to need to do it, as a result of it’s cool.

GamesBeat: What has working with Microsoft been like?

Ievgen Grygorovych: They’ve been useful round two large issues. One, the technical half. They devoted an skilled workforce from their expertise group to assist us with optimizing sure issues for Xbox. It’s been superb to work with individuals who have that form of low-level expertise. The second half is emotional assist. They’ve been very supportive. They’ve proven the sport on their channels, and never simply because it’s a superb recreation, however as a result of–I really feel like they’re sympathetic to our private state of affairs, what we’re going via. They’ve been keen to assist us on a private stage. It’s been essential for me. If an organization this large believes in us and is keen to make use of its assets to assist us, possibly we’re vital in spite of everything.

Maria Grygorovych: It’s a uncommon state of affairs. Phil Spencer and Sarah Bond have helped us in quite a lot of alternative ways. It’s not simply enterprise. They’re simply good individuals. Lots of people from Microsoft have helped us out from totally different factors of view, even when it wasn’t essentially straightforward for them. They love video games they usually’re good individuals.

GamesBeat: How would you set followers’ expectations at this level? Is there something you needed to say to clarify the newest delays, the place it was moved to November?

Ievgen Grygorovych: Our objective is to make a superb recreation. We’ll do something to make that occur. Our goal is to not launch the sport for the time being the place gamers count on it. Our goal is to launch the sport when it could actually meet gamers’ expectations. I’m not afraid to delay the discharge if it’s to perform one thing good. 

We’re positively in a tough state of affairs the place it justifies the delays. It’s arduous to clarify to individuals–you’re on a Zoom video name together with your colleagues, engaged on the design, after which the sirens go off. Half the workforce on the decision has to rise up and go to the shelters. That impacts growth. You may’t predict what number of missiles Russia goes to launch at Kyiv. When that occurs, the alarm impacts the entire area. It’s arduous to clarify that to somebody who hasn’t had that have. They may perceive the details, however they haven’t felt it. We will really feel it. We will justify transferring the discharge to make the sport good, as a result of we all know our state of affairs. We all know what we’re going via. We now have the ethical proper to delay the discharge till we make this pretty much as good as we are able to. 

GamesBeat: You’ve lots of people pulling for you. I feel they’ll perceive.

Maria Grygorovych: Our delays aren’t solely due to the struggle. That’s vital to level out. It’s an enormous, troublesome challenge. We now have points generally that we have to repair. It’s a really advanced recreation technology-wise. We’re engaged on new platforms. Generally we have to push the discharge date simply because we want extra time to make things better and polish. Proper now it’s principally right down to bug fixing and extra bug fixing. There are expectations from the gamers on the market that we need to meet.

Not each developer has this sort of independence. Each developer wish to have extra time to complete their video games. That’s a privilege not everybody on the market has. We don’t have Microsoft demanding that we launch the sport on a sure day. We now have a really heat relationship. Some individuals may not count on that they’d be like that, nevertheless it’s fully true in our case. 

Ievgen Grygorovych: Even with out the struggle we’d have delays. We have to make the sport higher. It’s coming all collectively now.

Maria Grygorovych: We’re doing this for our gamers. We’re not an enormous firm with some huge cash. Each delay, for us, it’s arduous financially. We don’t have cash coming in from different initiatives.

GamesBeat: How many individuals are engaged on the sport now?

Maria Grygorovych: It’s 460. That’s essentially the most we’ve ever had. Each delay is difficult, but when we do it, it’s as a result of we actually want to repair one thing or add one thing. We actually have some points that we have to clear up.

Ievgen Grygorovych: My level is, we’ve not been growing this recreation for a very long time. We’ve been growing it for a traditional period of time. However for us it’s more durable to foretell an actual launch date. Our capability just isn’t completely below our management. My level in regards to the struggle, it’s about our planning capabilities.

Maria Grygorovych: For instance, it’s a standard state of affairs that each evening we’ll have alarms for a complete week. Individuals don’t get to sleep. We now have 240-250 individuals in Ukraine. In a single week the larger half of your workforce may not have gotten any sleep.

Ievgen Grygorovych: Or the electrical energy is out throughout working hours and it’s solely on at evening. You’ve one hour of overlap between time zones to have conferences. We’re not complaining. However we’re simply making an attempt to speak the details of the state of affairs.

GamesBeat: Is it true that one in all your individuals was killed within the struggle?

Ievgen Grygorovych: He labored on the unique trilogy, sure. And one actor, who did voice-over and movement seize for Stalker 2. He died a number of months in the past. Possibly a yr? Time flows very in another way proper now.

Maria Grygorovych: It’s a nervous factor. A variety of our individuals have relations who’ve died within the struggle. Our staff are on the entrance traces. One in all my largest fears is that sooner or later it is going to be somebody shut. Individuals die on daily basis. You by no means know.

GamesBeat: Effectively, I stay up for taking part in the sport.

Ievgen Grygorovych: We’re ready for the second we are able to convey it to gamers. 

Maria Grygorovych: I’m hoping for it. I would like some level of satisfaction. It’s accomplished! And we’ll maintain going after that. However we’re very drained.

Ievgen Grygorovych: I’m sorry that a lot of this has been damaging.

Maria Grygorovych: It looks like we’ve talked extra about struggle than in regards to the recreation.

GamesBeat: It’s actual life. It’s a real story. It’s good to listen to it.