Former GSC Game World designer andSTALKERdeveloper Vladimir “Fresh” Yezhov has been killed while fighting in Ukraine last week, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense revealed. Yezhov volunteered to defend his homeland in the immediate aftermath of the Russian invasion back in February. He is not the onlySTALKERdeveloper that has been fighting in Ukrainethis year, but he is the first reported casualty from that limited pool of the defense force.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has already taken a heavy toll on the gaming industry, thoughthe numerous resulting game delaysare naturally the least of everyone’s concerns when it comes to the ongoing war. GSC Game World has already relocated the majority of its staffers to Prague, where it is continuing to work onSTALKER 2. Meanwhile, since Yezhov enrolled with the Ukrainian army, he became a commander of an air reconnaissance unit in the 23rd Special Purpose Battalion.
RELATED:Metro Exodus Dev Killed While Fighting in Ukraine
Yezhov died during the defense of Bakhmut, a city in Eastern Ukraine that has been under assault since May. A funeral ceremony for the 38-year-old was held in Kyiv on December 27. GSC paid tribute to its former staffer on Twitter, stating that he will be immortalized by his numerous projects. BesidesSTALKER: Call of Pripyat, Yezhov also worked atCossacs 2,Alexander, andHeroes of Annihilated Empiresduring his time at GSC. His other development credits include RTS gameWorld of Battles: Morningstar, adventure gameSherlock Holmes: Devil’s Daughter, and survival horror RPGCall of Cthulhu.
A GSC community manager already hinted at Yezhov’s passing as part of a holiday message sent to the fans last week. The lengthy writeup—worded as a holiday greetingfrom an actual stalker—included a touching mention of a “red-haired lad” who had “been clenching his Freedom badge till the end.” This was likely a reference to the fact that Yezhov’s likeness was used for the character model of Loki, a leader of a Freedom faction detachment featured inSTALKER: Call of Pripyat.
According to a Facebook post from his brother, Yezhov is succeeded by two sons. Casualties from the ongoing war are far from limited to combatants. TheRussian FSB reportedly killed threeSTALKERcosplayerslast month after mistaking them for Ukrainian spies. Meanwhile, Remedy Entertainment recently revealed that oneMetro Exodusdeveloper was also killed while defending Ukraine.
