- GSC Game World was paid more than Stalker 2’s budget for timed Xbox exclusivity.
- The studio head says it was a great financial decision for them and almost a no-brainer.
- Xbox immediately signed the docs after it saw the game’s trailer doing so well.
Xbox is in a bad place right now, and a lot of irrational decisions have led up to this situation. The company’s hardware sales have been collapsing really badly, and it has been struggling to keep its studios afloat, which has led to so many layoffs.
Now a new report reveals that Xbox paid GSC Game World even more than Stalker 2’s entire development budget to keep it exclusive. For context, the budget is estimated to be between $70 and $100 million.
Why it matters: While the game had a decent reception and sold fairly well, splashing this money on a franchise that isn’t too mainstream doesn’t sound like too good of an idea financially, and it also launched day 1 on Game Pass.
In a recent podcast with OLDBoi, studio head Sergiy Grygorovych talked about how Stalker 2 became a timed Xbox exclusive at launch. He revealed that the decision was great for the company, as it helped them significantly financially.
We took more than the cost of Stalker 2, and it paid for itself before the first day (Translated).
Xbox paid more than the game’s entire development cost to keep it exclusive. Grygorovych said the company was so interested in the title because the trailer did great. Looking at the numbers, they immediately signed the documents.
He says the decision paid off for Xbox too, as the game did well in terms of sales. Though we don’t have any new numbers, the title did sell 1 million copies in 2 days and also reached 6 million players last year.
What are your thoughts on Xbox paying more than Stalker 2’s development cost to keep it exclusive? Let us know your opinions in the comments or join the discussion at the official Tech4Gamers Forum.
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News Reporter
Abdullah is an avid gamer who primarily plays single-player titles. If you can’t find him anywhere, he’ll probably be at his desk playing The Witcher 3 for the millionth time. When he isn’t playing games, he’s either reading or writing about them.
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