Stalker 2’s Russian players allegedly bribed to review-bomb Ukranian-made game

Russian Stalker 2 players are allegedly being contacted on social media and bribed to review-bomb the game helmed by a Ukrainian studio.

A whopping 14 years on from its initial reveal, Stalker 2 is finally upon us. While it’s a mixed bag at launch given some early performance issues, the game has nonetheless been a huge commercial success.

Selling over a million copies in the first 48 hours alone, it’s a triumph for studio GSC Game World which has endured the project’s turbulent development. Based in Ukraine, the team had to suspend work entirely in light of the Russian invasion, soon relocating to the Czech Republic to continue making progress.

It appears the game is being targeted by review-bombers, with Russian-based players allegedly contacted on social media with financial incentives to leave negaitve feedback.

GSC Game World

Stalker 2 appears to be the latest review-bomb target.

Stalker 2 review bombing bribery explained

Russian players are allegedly being contacted through Telegram. At least, one supposed example on social media has shown money offered in exchange for negative reviews.

Although Stalker 2 currently sits at a Mostly Positive rating on Steam with just shy of 40,000 reviews, that could change if this scheme makes a real dent.

“We have an offer for you,” the alleged Telegram message reads. “Leave reviews about the game and earn real money.”

A single negative review on Steam would net 100 Russian Rubles, equating to less than $1 USD. But adopting a widespread approach, prospective review bombers are allegedly being asked to target TikTok as well.

A single negative comment on a given TikTok video would net 0.80 Russian Ruble. You’d need to fire off more than 150 negative comments to return the equivalent of $1 USD.

Meanwhile, making your own negative video on TikTok has a different equation. For every 200 views, Russian players could be paid 5 Russian Rubles. Thus, you’d need around 4,500 views for roughly $1 USD.

Another example, shared to Reddit, offered slightly higher payouts.

This is “how Russians fight [a] Ukrainian video game,” researcher Dr. Mariia Kramarenko shared on X/Twitter.

Steam

Stalker 2 is still sitting at Mostly Positive on Steam, closing in on 40K reviews.

Obviously, it’s hard to gauge just how much of an impact this alleged scheme may have, though for now, Stalker 2 is holding strong. At least on Steam, players require a few hours of game time in order to leave reviews of any kind, positive or negative.

Having to purchase the game on multiple accounts, then invest that amount of time, certainly doesn’t prove fruitful with the alleged “bribes” on offer.