Stalker Online released on Steam, rebranded as Stay Out

Stalker Online released on Steam after the surprising announcement last September. It was a “new” MMORPG inspired by Andrei Tarkovsky’s 1979 film Stalker and GSC Game World's Stalker games. Speaking of which, actual news about Stalker 2 are few and far between.

When Russian developer Mobile Technologies LLC announced Stalker Online, there was a looming doubt – just how official is this game, and where is it getting its license from? Apparently, our concerns were correct, as the Steam release is now called Stay Out, with every mention to Stalker Online clearly deleted. Well, there is the odd “stalking” reference in the fact sheet, and the artwork and environments remain heavily inspired by Stalker, but this is a completely different game, yes it is.

Judging by the first batch of player reviews on Steam, the new name Stay Out could turn out to be a judicious choice and a word of warning to unwary players. Allegedly, the tutorial itself is terrible, extremely slow paced and described by one player as “the worst introduction to a game I have ever played in my entire life.” Stalker Online… I mean, Stay Out also seems to be one of those games where the official language is “Engrish.”

If you're still curious about Stay Out, you can check some gameplay below. The official Stalker Online YouTube channel doesn't seem to have any new trailers since May 2019, probably because the name isn't exactly up for grabs, so check this old footage. In case it convinced you and you want to step in, head over to Steam to play Stay Out.