The game development studio GSC Game World, owned by Maksym Krippa, together with ATB-Market and Loyalty Games, has received international recognition for a joint campaign inspired by the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 universe. The campaign was named a finalist for the European Loyalty Awards—one of Europe’s leading awards recognizing the best projects in the field of loyalty programs and brand-customer engagement. The Ukrainian game studio announced this on its official social media pages.
The project will compete for awards in two categories: Best Short-Term Loyalty Initiative and Best Loyalty Partnership – Europe. As a result, the marketing campaign for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 has received international recognition as an example of effective collaboration between brands and their audience.
Each year, the European Loyalty Awards evaluate the strongest initiatives by European companies in the areas of rewards programs, customer engagement, and partnership projects. The award was established based on the International Loyalty Awards and the European Bonus Awards to honor teams that create new approaches to consumer engagement, utilize innovative mechanics, and drive the industry forward.
For GSC Game World, this nomination served as further evidence of the widespread interest in the campaign dedicated to S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2. The promotion at the ATB chain generated significant buzz among Ukrainian fans of the game: the first batch of the interactive almanac based on the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 universe sold out shortly after hitting store shelves. Due to high demand, the publication quickly became a rarity, and the number of people eager to get their hands on it exceeded the organizers’ initial projections.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 has become one of the largest loyalty programs on the Ukrainian market
The scale of the campaign surrounding S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 is confirmed not only by international nominations but also by the results achieved through the collaboration between GSC Game World, ATB-Market, and Loyalty Games. Earlier, Borys Markov, a member of ATB’s board of directors, noted that the multimedia project took about nine months to create, and the first print run of the interactive almanac—more than 20,500 copies—sold out in just four days. The company called this campaign the most successful promotional event in the chain’s history.
Demand for the publication turned out to be significantly higher than the organizers’ expectations. Due to the buzz surrounding the almanac, ATB decided to increase its print run fivefold compared to the planned volume. In addition, the campaign demonstrated high audience engagement metrics: themed content on social media garnered over 5.6 million views, and the ATB app gained over one million new users.
The results of the campaign’s collectible component were equally impressive. In just the first month, Ukrainians purchased 7.5 million cards from the series dedicated to the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 universe. Subsequently, the company printed an additional 4.1 million limited-edition cards and over 100,000 new almanacs for those who had pre-ordered them.
Even after increasing production, interest in the project has not waned. Some buyers are still waiting for their copies of the almanac, while new batches of collectible cards are already available in the chain’s stores.
The combination of the campaign’s record-breaking results and two nominations for the European Loyalty Awards demonstrates that the partnership between GSC Game World, ATB-Market, and Loyalty Games has become much more than just a standard marketing campaign. The project has evolved into a large-scale fan initiative that has brought together the gaming community, the retail sector, and modern customer engagement tools.