Russian forces, under orders from a pathetic sort, continue their invasion of Ukraine while senselessly murdering civilians and soldiers alike. With their headquarters located in the Ukraine capital of Kyiv, Stalker 2 developers GSC Game World made a small change to the title for the upcoming Stalker 2 that has some significant political meaning.
As GSC Game World continues just trying to survive, they did quietly and quickly make a change to their upcoming game. The new title for Stalker 2 is officially S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl. The game used to be called S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chernobyl. It's a very small visual change, an "e" to an "o" in Chornobyl, but it is a change with significant meaning.
No public statement has been made as to why the change was made, but it seems safe to assume it's because Chornobyl is the Ukrainian spelling for the area, while Chernobyl is the Russian spelling.
You may have also noticed something else regarding the spelling of "Kyiv" for the capital city of Ukraine. You may have been used to seeing it spelled as "Kiev" for years prior to the events of the past month. Kiev is derived from the Russian language name. Since 2018, the Ukrainian government has been pushing for it to be "Kyiv," which was just part of a larger Ukrainian heritage movement.
Though several older promotional materials for Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl still contain the old spelling, the updated spelling can be seen reflected on the Steam page for Stalker 2.
