GSC Game World has teamed up with board games developer Awaken Realms, known for its work on Nemesis and ISS Vanguard, to develop a new game set in the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. franchise. The game is already underway with STALKER: The Board Game available as a campaign preview on Gamefound.
Gamefound Campaign to Launch in June
At the time of writing, the campaign preview was published around 20 hours ago, but it has already generated more than 12,000 people following it. This is testimony not just to the studio, Awaken Realms, but also to the success of the video game title as well. No release date has been set yet, but the game will most likely take until 2024 to be delivered. The campaign is set to launch in June this year.
The news was shared at a video presentation during which Awaken Realms also announced Nemesis: Retaliation. Back to STALKER: The Board Game, the title is fully inspired by the story of the highly-concentrated post-apocalyptic chaos of the Chornobyl nuclear disaster which melted in 1986. The story of the board game will be introduced in scenarios with players spending about 2 hours per session. Awaken Realms has detailed the upcoming project as such:
Scenarios will include stealth missions where you quietly move between unaware enemies while scouting new locations, tactical gunfights, retrieval missions, artifact hunting, navigating through dangerous anomalies, fighting mutants and many more.
Awaken Realms
The characters in the board game will be unique and they will be able to upgrade their skills and gear as they carry on. The game will rely on high-quality components and models and bring players into the very heart of the Zone where fictional armed factions come head-to-head to assert dominance.
STALKER: Shadow of Chornobyl which was introduced in 2007 as a video game and developed by GSC Game World, a leading Ukrainian video game developer, advanced the concept of open-world gameplay and established the franchise’s standing in the video gaming pantheon. Sequels did not fail to deliver on fans’ expectations either, with STALKER: Clear Sky and STALKER: Call of Pripyat enjoying a strong critical and player reception.
Video Games Making Their Mark on the Board Gaming Industry
The latest video game in the series, STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl has been delayed and will release in 2023. Back to the tabletop franchise, STALKER: The Board Game will get some of the best minds working on it. The game is planned as a zone-crawling experience, which is in the same league as Gloomhaven, Descent: Legends of the Dark, Star Wars: Imperial Assault and many other games.
Board games inspired by video games are becoming more commonplace and with the studios capable to bring the franchises to the tabletop experience, confidence in such projects is at a record high in 2023. This year will see a plethora of excellent video game-inspired games, including Apex Legends, Dead Cells, and Sea of Thieves among so many others.