Gaming in Ukraine. Reviews, Walkthroughs, News

Replaced, an upcoming Xbox console exclusive that has found its way to several most anticipated list thanks to its lavish pixel art, has been delayed to 2024.

Detained: Too Good for School will launch for PC via Steam in 2024, publisher Thermite Games and developer O.T.K Games announced. It will support English, Japanese, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, French, Russian, Ukrainian, Spanish, and Portuguese language options.

HWMonitor, a highly popular hardware monitoring application, has added support for Intel's Raptor Lake Refresh and the Meteor Lake CPU lineup.

Maksym Yanchyi, lead Xbox programmer on Stalker 2, lets out a deep sigh. It’s not the first time Mak, as he’s called by his colleagues, steadies himself before revealing the horrifying difficulties the developers of one of the most anticipated shooters of 2024 face on a daily basis. Right now he’s talking about Russian hackers and their ongoing attempts to breach GSC Game World’s security systems, the constant harassment, and even death threats that have come from the theft of personal information.

Yesterday, publisher Fulqrum and developer Dreamate Games unveiled New Arc Line, an upcoming single player cRPG set in a world at a crossroads between magic and steampunk, inspired by the technological revolution of the early 20th century USA.

Hardware giant Nvidia is ceasing operations of its GeForce Now streaming service in Russia.

We're thrilled to announce the return of GamesBeat Next, hosted in San Francisco this October, where we will explore the theme of «Playing the Edge.» Apply to speak here and learn more about sponsorship opportunities here. At the event, we will also announce 25 top game startups as the 2024 Game Changers. Apply or nominate today!

Nvidia's cloud gaming platform, GeForce Now, will cease its operations in Russia on October 1. Starting September 1, Nvidia partner GFN.ru will close registration for new users and discontinue the sale of GeForce Now subscriptions in the country. 

Ukrainian studio Dreamate has announced New Arc Line, a turn-based RPG for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and PC. It will launch in 2024.

Ukrainian development studio Dreamate has announced New Arc Line, a fantasy steampunk CRPG due out in 2024 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S. Check out the reveal trailer above and the first screenshots in the gallery below.

MMO streamer Labat has let their Twitch viewers control a World Of Warcraft character, and within a single week, the chat has stormed past Level 60.

In 2019, India attempted to land a spacecraft on the Moon – and ended up painting a kilometres-long streak of debris on its barren surface. Now the Indian Space Research Organisation has returned in triumph, with the Chandrayaan-3 lander successfully touching down near the south pole of Earth's rocky neighbour.

Phil Spencer had a special message when asked about having S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl on hand at Gamescom.

Post-apocalyptic first-person shooter, Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl has had its release date pushed back to early 2024.

GSC Game World’s S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 has had quite an eventful development timeline. Fans were initially excited when the game was announced, though it quickly drew criticism when developers announced that NFTs would be included. The Ukrainian studio backtracked on this, though it then had to contend with the Russian invasion of Ukraine which resulted in the game’s delay.

NASA and SpaceX are preparing to launch a crew of four to the International Space Station on Friday.

Yesterday it was announced that STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl has been delayed to early 2024, and while that’s disappointing, GSC Game World has dropped a new trailer to tide fans over. This is probably the largest chunk of real gameplay we’ve seen to date – no cutscenes or polished-up beauty shots, just guns a-blazing, freaky mutants, and dogs getting sucked into anomalies. You can check out the new STALKER 2 trailer for yourself, below.

It's been a long time coming, but it looks like STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl will finally be coming out early next year, with developer GSC World hitting gamescom to talk all about their highly anticipated sequel. And GSC has quite the story to tell: after being announced and then canceled in 2011, revived in 2018, and then delayed amid Russia's unvasion of Ukraine. But now, we've finally got more to see of STALKER 2.

Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine is ongoing, sadly with no end to the conflict in sight, and its impacts continue to be felt globally and most acutely in Ukraine itself. Developer GSC Game World was based in Kyiv and, since the war began, has been facing the direst of circumstances: development of Stalker 2 was temporarily paused while it helped some employees flee the conflict zone, while other staff are volunteering or have signed up for the Ukrainian armed forces.

It looks as though Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl may now be released in early 2024.

Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl is currently set to release in the first quarter of 2024.

After plenty of speculation, we may have just learned when STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl is finally coming thanks to the developer’s own fact sheet: Q1 of 2024.

When the Plaion Store seemingly leaked the release date of STALKER 2 (December 1st), fans were hoping that would turn out to be true. After all, the last word from developer GSC Game World was still December 2023, as currently still listed on the Steam page.

Fans of the Stalker franchise have been waiting a good while now for Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl. In fact, this game was initially set to launch all the way back in 2012 before it was canceled. Now we’re once again getting ready for the game as in 2018, the developers picked it back up with the game being developed using Unreal Engine 5. However, getting this game through the finish line has been anything but smooth.

Xbox boss Phil Spencer has opened Xbox's Gamescom booth with a short address where he mentions some of the games playable at the event, among them Stalker 2, which he says is currently having the final touches added.

The space race India aims to win this week by landing first on the moon's south pole is about science, the politics of national prestige and a new frontier: money.

Developer Sad Cat Studios have delayed their debut cyberpunk platformer Replaced into 2024, because they “can’t afford to release a sub-par game.” The Belarusian-based studio previously pushed the game from 2022 into 2023 due to the ongoing war in Ukraine, but based on its moody retrofuturist trailers I’m happy to wait until every pixel is perfectly positioned, as long as the teams are staying safe.

Metal Gear Solid Master Collection Volume 1 has a notable disclaimer that the press took notice off when Konami shared previews with the press earlier last week.

Cyberpunk platformer Replaced will now launch in 2024.

Join Mila Kunis in supporting BlueCheck and their mission to provide critical humanitarian relief in war-torn Ukraine. Purchase a special, time-limited Pet Pack* for Ukraine, and we will donate all proceeds** from its sales to this important cause.

2.5D sci-fi platformerReplaced has looked like an intriguing prospect since it was first announced back in 2021, though the wait for the game has stretched on a little longer than most would have expected- and it seems it’s set to stretch on longer still.

Blizzard has posted This Week in WoW which includes 2 new promotions on Thursday, but no scheduled news for a 10.2 reveal just yet.

The Ukrainian Games Festival is currently being hosted on Steam, to celebrate the country's Independence Day.

11.6 million console and PC games were sold in July across Europe, up 34% over the same period in 2022.

The next big livestreamed event in the games industry is Gamescom Opening Night Live 2023, scheduled to broadcast across YouTube, Twitch, and various social channels on Tuesday, August 22nd, starting at 11 AM Pacific Time (2 PM Eastern Time, 7 PM British Time, 8 PM local time).

There’s an interesting new rumor about Call of Duty Modern Warfare III that is absolutely not what you think it is.

It’s unfortunate that STALKER 2 never made its April 2022 release date. However, it appears as though the long-awaited FPS horror game from GSC could be launched at the start of December, even though there’s been no official confirmation.

The wait for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl has been a long one, and as has been the case for a few months now, there isn’t much clarity on when exactly the highly anticipated open world shooter is going to launch. It seems, however, that it’s release date may have leaked ahead of a potential upcoming announcement.

Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl's lengthy development might come to an end soon, with its distributor suddenly listing a release date of December 1, 2023. While this hasn't been officially confirmed, this date doesn't seem to be a placeholder being used on the website, so developer GSC Game World could be poised to make an announcement soon.

STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl may have been given a December 1, 2023, according to distributor Plaion’s website.

Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl looks set to release on 1st December, 2023.

Xbox console exclusive Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl could be set for release before the end of the year, according to a distributor listing.

STALKER 2 might be less than four months away from release if a new listing on the official German PLAION Store is to be believed. As spotted by fellow press member Andrew Marmo, the store mentions a December 1st release date, and it might not be a placeholder.

A Moscow court has found Dmitry Glukhovsky, the author of the original Metro 2033 novel and its sequels, guilty of “deliberately spreading false information,” leading to a hefty eight-year prison sentence. The charges state Glukhovsky posted texts and videos on his social channels claiming that Russian servicemen have been committing crimes in Ukraine.

The author of the Metro series of books, Dmitry Glukhovsky, has been sentenced to eight years in prison by Russian prosecutors.

Author of the Metro series novels, Dmitry Glukhovsky, has been sentenced to an eight-year prison team for spreading misinformation about the Russian army.

Russia's plan to launch its lunar lander on Friday is the latest in an international push to return to the Moon that includes the world's top powers but also new players.

Russia is set to return to the moon after nearly 50 years by sending an uncrewed lander toward the lunar south pole, joining a race with NASA and other space agencies.

An Associated Press report says Metro 2033 author Dmitry Glukhovsky has been sentenced to eight years in prison after being found guilty of spreading false information about the Russian military in online posts.

Dmitry Glukhovsky, the author behind the Metro books, has been sentenced to eight years in prison.

Dmitry Glukhovsky's case reflects Russia's ongoing crackdown on dissent, as writers and artists face stifling consequences for voicing opposing views.

Metro 2033 author and creator Dmitry Glukhovsky has been sentenced to eight years in prison after Russia ruled that he had spread misinformation on its armed forces via social media.

The author behind the Metro series of books and video games is wanted by Russian authorities after it was claimed he spread false information about Russia’s armed forces.

The Witcher's creator has disputed the view that the books are inspired by Slavic mythology.

4A Games, the studio behind the popular Metro series, will be present at this year's Gamescom event as an exhibitor.

When Microsoft signed their ten year deals with the cloud gaming companies, it seemed like those agreements were random and inexplicable. But as it turns out, Microsoft signed up all of cloud gaming’s major players.

Amidst the escalating war between Russia and Ukraine, tech giant Apple has removed a prominent Russian news podcast from its Apple Podcasts streaming platform. The show, titled ‘What Happened', is produced by independent media outlet Meduza and offered an in-depth analysis of pressing issues in Russian society.

You'd think there was some grand inspiration behind The Witcher book series - a fictional land rife with politics and undiscovered geographical points, or dragons and ogres for the hero to slay. After all, it's a popular series in its own right, plus it's got an acclaimed video game tie-in series and a Netflix adaptation that hasn't been canned yet.

The Witcher season 3 may have just come to an end on Netflix, but it’s elsewhere in the Witcher universe that the latest big news is coming from. On a new livestream Thursday, Witcher author Andrzej Sapkowski said that he’s working on another book in the series, which would be the first one in a decade.

Good news for anyone who won't be watching the Hemsworth-helmed Witcher Netflix show: Author Andrzej Sapkowski has confirmed that he's working on a new book in the original series, and he thinks it'll be ready soon. No word yet on whether it will be suitable for Americans and young people.

Every summer, hackers and researchers from around the world brave the broiling Las Vegas heat, coming together for the hacking extravaganza known as Black Hat. This is the opportunity for academics and professional testers to wow their colleagues by showcasing the vulnerabilities they’ve discovered or new protection techniques they’ve invented. 

Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski has confirmed he's writing another book in The Witcher series that will presumably continue the story of Geralt of Rivia.

The history of wargaming goes back to Kriegsspiel, as devised by Prussian Lieutenant Georg Leopold von Reisswitz in 1812, but the history of Wargaming—the company behind free-to-play military MMOs like World of Tanks, World of Warships, and World of Warplanes—is a little shorter. It was founded in 1998, and is celebrating its 25th anniversary with a week-long event that includes free DLC and in-game events with decals, emblems, credits, and other rewards to earn.

The Witcher producer Tomasz Bagiński has reacted to the ongoing backlash that the Netflix series has faced for changing details from its source material. As many will be aware, the show is based on Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski’s series of books. While it broadly follows these, some elements have been changed, which has been a source of ire from some fans.

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Before you embark on this week’s adventures, take a moment to read up on the latest beats from all of your favorite games.

One of the most common criticisms of The Witcher on Netflix is that it strays too far from Andrzej Sapkowski's novels. It may have been a source of some tension behind the scenes, too: Former series star Henry Cavill made a point of saying he «pushed really, really hard» to stay true to the books, while also claiming that some of the writers on the show «actively disliked» them. There's no question that some aspects of the novel have been simplified for the TV show, and in an interview with Polish site Wyborcza (translated by Witcher fan site Redanian Intelligence), executive producer Tomek Baginski explained why some of those changes were made: "[A] higher level of nuance and complexity will have a smaller range."

A World of Warcraft player has stumbled upon a bug that allows them to one-shot many of their Horde allies, alongside some of the MMO’s most prominent lore characters. 

Wargaming is celebrating its 25th anniversary with a series of in-game events across its titles, special offers and discounts, free anniversary DLC and even a charitable donation to help the people of Ukraine.

Larian Studios has provided Baldur's Gate 3 players with a sick note to take the day off from work, in no less than 13 languages.

Tomek Baginski, executive producer on Netflix's The Witcher, has blamed American audiences and social media sites such as TikTok for the series' simplified take on the books' plots.

STALKER 2 is one of those games that required extreme patience from its fans. The sequel to the cult survival horror first-person shooter game was first announced in 2010 for a 2012 release date, but GSC Game World was dissolved in late 2011, seemingly putting an end to the project. The Ukrainian studio was resurrected three years later, in December 2014, though they decided to work on Cossacks 3 first.

Apple Inc.'s main supplier, Foxconn Technology Group, is planning to invest close to $500 million to build two component factories in India as part of a steady diversification from China.

Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine has resulted in an exodus of foreign industries from the country, as Western nations unite in applying sanctions on the Putin regime. The games industry is one of the more prominent, with almost every major player now having withdrawn from Russia and closed any regional offices there. What's an ordinary Russian to do when they can't get their gaming fix? Pirate it, comrade.

World of Warcraft has released a new time-limited pet pack to support humanitarian relief in Ukraine, as the country fights the ongoing and illegal Russian invasion. Fronted by Hollywood actor Mila Kunis, herself a former Warcrafter, 100% of the proceeds from the pack's sales will go to BlueCheck, a Ukrainian collective of crisis response and aid organisations.

World of Warcraft has launched a new pack of companion pets that will donate all of its proceeds towards helping those in Ukraine. The Pet Pack for Ukraine will benefit BlueCheck, an organisation that works to support a variety of NGOs in the war-struck country offering everything from vital medical supplies and power generators to humanitarian aid.

CD Projekt RED has revealed they will be laying off 100 of their own employees.

The founder of one of Russia's most prominent cybersecurity companies has been convicted of treason by a Russian court and will spend the next 14 years in jail.

Developer Infinity Ward changed first-person shooters forever when it launched Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare in 2007. Set on the frontlines of a politically murky war, its adrenaline-fueled action set pieces redefined campaign design for an entire generation. But while levels like Crew Expendable and Charlie Don’t Surf channelled the trademark intensity of Call of Duty’s World War 2 days, one mission set the series’ rulebook ablaze and threw it out of the window. It was called All Ghillied Up.