GSC Game World

GSC Game World (GSCGW) is an Ukrainian video game developer. Founded in 1995 in Kyiv by Hryhorovych Serhiy, Ukraine, it released titles such as Cossacks: European Wars, American Conquest, Alexander, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky and S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat. In 2004, GSC Game World founded a publishing firm, GSC World Publishing.

GSCGW's most successful game series was S.T.A.L.K.E.R., a survival shooter seven years in development that was released in March 2007. It is also known for the Cossacks series. Most of their titles are published in Europe by Cdv Software Entertainment.

GSCGW created the X-Ray Engine used in the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series.

On December 9, 2011, GSC was dissolved. Two new studios were formed by employees who worked on S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Vostok Games and 4A Games.

In 2013 a controversial new company was formed, called West Games (formerly Union Studio), with people who claimed to be former members or leading specialists of the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series. However, GSC Game World later revealed that the only STALKER project West Games were working on was a canceled Flash game.

Fictional universe

A fictional universe is a self-consistent fictional setting with events, and often elements, that differ from the real world. It may also be called an imagined, constructed or fictional realm (or world). Fictional universes may appear in novels, comics, films, television shows, video games and other creative works.

A fictional universe can be almost indistinguishable from the real world, except for the presence of the invented characters and events that characterize a work of fiction; at the other extreme it can bear little or no resemblance to reality, with invented fundamental principles of space and time.

The subject is most commonly addressed in reference to fictional universes that differ markedly from reality, such as those that introduce entire fictional cities, countries, or even planets, or those that contradict commonly known facts about the world and its history, or those that feature fantasy or science fiction concepts such as magic or faster than light travel—and especially those in which the deliberate development of the setting is a substantial focus of the work.