STALKER 2 Devs Cancel NFT-Related Plans Amid Player Pushback

NFTs will no longer be introduced in STALKER 2: Heart of Chernobyl, the upcoming title's developer GSC Game World announced Thursday.

The announcement was made on the game's official Twitter account, continuing a trend in recent months where seemingly significant pushback has been dawned on gaming-related companies (e.g. Behaviour Interactive, Discord) that aim to offer NFTs and cryptocurrency to their fans.

"Based on the feedback we received, we've made a decision to cancel anything NFT-related in STALKER 2," the GSC Game World team's Twitter statement reads. "The interests of our fans and players are the top priority for the team. We're making this game for you to enjoy — whatever the cost is. If you care, we care too."

About 90 minutes earlier, the developer had put out a since-deleted statement to explain why they were planning to release NFT-bonuses for STALKER 2, complete with a new Twitter account titled "STALKER Metaverse."

"STALKER 2: Heart of Chernobyl is truly the biggest and the most complex game we have ever created," the GSC Game World team's old Twitter statement read. "All the funds that we earn during the development process (including the potential income from NFT) will be spent on improving the long-awaited game to make it even better.

"Why did we choose NFT? It's a new technology, and we are eager to do NFT right: give certain fans an opportunity to get into the game without interfering with other players' experience. That's why the tokens are entirely optional and have no impact on gameplay or story (no weapons, quests, locations, etc.) and can be activated only before the game release."

The initial offering of tokens was reportedly planned to feature the faces of several NPCs that weren't involved in the story.

Beyond that, GSC Game World disclosed that they were looking to implement nicknames of the owners on some in-game desks, walls, gloves, tattoos, skins and badges, in addition to releasing some collectible cards on DMarket.

STALKER 2: Heart of Chernobyl is set to release for PC (via Steam, Epic Games Store, Microsoft Store) and Xbox Series X|S on April 28, 2022.