Ukraine urges gamers not to enter Chernobyl exclusion zone ahead of release of Stalker 2

Ukraine border guards on Thursday urged fans of a horror video game not to illegally enter the Chernobyl exclusion zone, saying dozens of people had been caught trespassing in the tightly controlled territory.

The popular first-person shooter Stalker: Shadow of Chernobyl is set in a fictitious version of the restricted surroundings of the nuclear plant, which suffered a catastrophic meltdown in 1986.

“It was found that a considerable number of adventurer trespassers who illegally tried to enter the restricted area in search of extreme thrills were video game enthusiasts,” Ukraine’s border service said on Thursday.

The warning came a day after the release of Stalker 2: Heart of Chernobyl, a long-awaited sequel to the game developed by Ukrainian studio GSC.

The game sees players, or “stalkers”, navigate a post-apocalyptic exclusion zone around the plant filled with mutants and humanoid monsters.

The release proved so popular that the rush to download it triggered a “temporary decrease in internet speeds” across Ukraine, the digital transformation ministry said, with total data use up by “at least 35 per cent” compared with a normal day.