No, Stalker 2 is not about recruiting soldiers for the war in Ukraine

The video game S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 : Heart of Chornobyl is the victim of a disinformation campaign from Russia. She tries to make people believe that it is a tool aimed at enlisting soldiers for the war in Ukraine.

Both a miracle and a standard-bearer of resilience, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 : Heart of Chornobyl is still the target of the Russian government. In an article published on November 27 by 404 Media, we learned that the video game, developed by a Ukrainian studio, would be the target of a disinformation campaign. It revolves around a fake video created by Wired, sent to journalists by email and Telegram.

The video in question, of which the American magazine is obviously not at the origin, explains that S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 : Heart of Chornobyl would in reality be an enlistment tool to send Ukrainians to the front. It would then collect personal data, which the Ukrainian government would then use to mobilize more people. This initiative would be supervised by the same network behind the Matryoshka affair, another disinformation campaign targeting the media.

Stalker 2 is the victim of a Russian disinformation campaign

We have to admit that the fake video is quite successful. The Wired watermark provides legitimacy, while the message shared is alarming enough to intrigue. It reads:

« The video game Stalker 2 helps the government locate citizens who are candidates for mobilization. An embedded program was discovered in the game's code to collect data and transmit it to the developers' servers. The program collects data on the player's device, name, IP address and location. Information is shared every second. At first launch, the player has the choice to authorize data collection. But it happens regardless of the player's choice. »

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl // Source : GSC Game World

Then quoting Roman Bochkala, journalist and military correspondent, the montage indicates that there is a deal between the GSC Game World studio and the Ukrainian government. It would rely on the financing of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 : Heart of Chornobyl by public funds, in exchange for the data collected. “ It is better to use a VPN, or even boycott the game » advises the video, while this survival experience, which takes place in an area inspired by Chernobyl, is very popular (including in Russia).

This is not the first time that S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 : Heart of Chornobyl is attacked by the Russian government. GSC Game World, forced to move production due to the situation in Ukraine and which lost one of its members (killed while taking up arms), suffered cyberattacks during development. The video game, which has also encouraged commercial success, has also been the subject of a political fight, under the backdrop of threats against those who would try to acquire it in Russia (via an indirect means). Today he is a symbol of success for Ukraine, which is not at all to the Russians' taste. We can go behind the scenes in this official documentary.


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