GSC Closed? Stalker2 Cancelled???

[Maplassie]

Dunno how true this is, page is in Russian / Ukranian / Estonian / Spanish / Italian / Gibberish.

http://ukranews.com/ru/news/ukraine/2011/12/09/59663

Sergei Grigorovich, founder and CEO of the largest developer of computer games in Eastern Europe - Kiev company GSC Game World - decided to close the company.
On this to Ukrainian News reported an informed source.
According to him, today, December 9, Grigorovich announced the closure of the company at a meeting of the workforce.
He explained his decision to personal reasons, without specifying them.
Employees were promised that they owed wages to be paid prior to February 2012. According to sources, the company employs about 40-50 people.
Interlocutor of the agency said that part of the personnel of the company with close ties discontent Grigorovich the progress of development of STALKER 2, and some - with an interest in the company from one of the security forces, which began, according to the interlocutor, for about two months ago.
The source stressed that the above reasons - this is only speculation and version.
The company GSC Game World is working in the computer games industry since 1995. She has released more than a dozen of its own gaming projects, including "The Cossacks", "STALKER", "The Conquest of America", "Heroes of Annihilated Empires." The first two have become blockbuster, and even places of worship in the Ukrainian community of gamers.
Grigorovich became an entrepreneur in 2010 in Ukraine, according to the company Ernst & Young.

EDIT**

Confirmed:
1c Ukraine’s Sergey Galenkin has blogged about the closure of GSC. He states: “GSC is closed, a fact confirmed by all. The team is almost completely dissolved, the state has only a few people.” Galenkin blames the cost of developing a PC only shooter for a European audience, and a failed console publishing deal, for the collapse of the developer.
http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/12/09/wuh-oh-gsc-stalker-2-dead/

EDIT 2*** (from Reddit)

The article cautiously hints at an "interest from from one of the security forces". For non-natives: such interest typically implies some form of racketeering. The company was being shaken down by corrupt police agencies.

It's a shake down: pay us a bribe or we will arrest you/force you to close. It's how things work in that part of the world. Be glad you were so lucky as to be born in a place where you don't even understand the concept.

This works this way:
Company makes money.
Officials are not making as much.
Officials consider themselves as part-owners of the profitable company.
Officials start demanding payments or else an endless supply of red tape and even criminal charges may fall on the actual owners of the company.

 

[Glordit]

R.I.P One of the best games made in our time.
Not to worry though, I am sure in the future we will see some of the dev teams talent being put to use in other awesome games *quick Gabe! Gram them before the Ho-Tick does!*

 

[Necuno]

Wonder if they will fall in with metro team or start similar thing.

 

[vintar]

I've seen quite a few of the devs on other forums with 4A games already in their sig, so some have moved across already.
This has come as a real shock to my team as well, wasnt even a hint of this happening, in fact quite the contrary..