GSC Game World founder Sergiy Grygorovych has revealed that Stalker 2 was profitable before launch, thanks to the sum Microsoft paid for Xbox exclusivity, after being impressed by the huge viewership of the game's debut trailer. Microsoft secured timed console exclusivity and a day-one Xbox Game Pass launch, and also helped produce and market the game, illustrating the scale of investment it made to bolster Game Pass content during its acquisition-heavy expansion years.

Grygorovych did not disclose the exact figures involved, but Stalker 2 went on to sell 1 million copies within two days of its November 2024 release and has since surpassed 6 million players, with a story expansion, Cost of Hope, launching this summer. The disclosure comes as Xbox's future strategy is in flux under new CEO Asha Sharma, who is overseeing a "reset" that has included 3,200 planned job cuts, the removal of Call of Duty from Game Pass's day-one lineup, and four studios departing Microsoft ownership, amid warnings from developers such as Maverick Games' Mike Brown that Game Pass has failed to attract enough subscribers to justify Microsoft's massive content spending.