When is the Stalker 2 release date? The long-awaited sequel was first announced during the Xbox and Bethesda Games E3 2021 showcase, with developer GSC Game World also revealing a trailer replete with gameplay and story details. The game’s official title is Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl, following from Shadow of Chernobyl and Call of Pripyat.
Stalker 2 is an RPG game set in the Chornobyl exclusion zone, where monsters run riot, and humans can be friends and foes alike. You’ll have to find a way to survive the dangers lurking in this area while unraveling its mysteries. The scope for Stalker 2 looks enormous, and early gameplay footage suggests it’s got the potential to be one of the best PC games once it’s finally released.
Stalker 2 release date
The S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl release date is Wednesday, November 20, 2024. This latest launch date comes after a further delay from developer GSC Game World.
This marks the third delay for Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl, announced via the “Really, Again?” trailer which aired alongside a press release explaining the studio needs additional time to “fix ‘unexpected anomalies’ (or simply ‘bugs’, as you call them).”
Speaking on the delay, game director Yevhen Grygorovych thanks fans for their patience. “We are always grateful for your ongoing support and understanding – it means the world to us,” he says. “We’re just as eager as you are to finally release the game and for you to experience it for yourself.”
Stalker 2 was originally slated to release on December 8, 2022, but it was delayed for the polish and testing necessary to “live up to the expectations.” Development has been severely disrupted by the Russia-Ukraine war, pushing its release window to Q1 2024. GSC Game World then decided to move the launch date to September 5, 2024 to address “technical imperfections.” However, it seems this long-awaited sequel needs a little more time.
Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl is due to release on PC via Steam, Game Pass, and the Epic Games Store. It also currently has a console exclusivity deal, meaning that it’s also coming to Xbox Series X|S.
The physical, limited edition of Stalker 2 has been so popular that the dev has opted to extend the run, giving players a better chance at securing some in-zone, real-world loot, if they want to.
Stalker 2 Game Pass
Stalker 2 will be released on Game Pass day one, meaning that anyone with an active subscription to the service can play the open-world game as it launches.
Players who’d prefer to preorder it outright can purchase the Stalker 2 ultimate edition, which received a price increase “to keep the quality at the desired level during these uneasy times” following the studio’s relocation during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Stalker 2 trailers
The E3 2021 trailer shows us the first official gameplay for Stalker 2, including a cameo from the series creator. The footage shows a cutscene of survivors sitting around a campfire, a place of respite from the relentless and dangerous world. The campfire scene is spliced with gameplay, including a gunfight at the nuclear plant. With plenty of factions to befriend or take out, it looks like combat will be tough once again as a “variety of enemies that follow different tactics [are] trying to outsmart you.”
We also get a first look at the Bloodsucker and an anomaly-infested area, where you can chuck bolts forward to test for these deadly rifts. The trailer shows a mix of horror, survival, and action. Although we know little about the story, the expanded open world adds survival mechanics, a life simulation system, and advanced AI. Mod support will also be available to give freedom to creative players.
The Stalker 2 ‘Bolts and Bullets’ trailer also includes a voiceover that may tease the central protagonist’s plight: “I was attacked while on a job. I got hit in the head, and when I woke up, I was in almost nothing but my birthday suit.” What follows is a montage of the worst morning-after imaginable, consisting of supernatural occurrences, rabid dogs, and flesh mutants.
Other trailers for Stalker 2 include the announcement of a partnership between Stalker 2 and the Non Stop energy drink brand, depicted in-game as a brief interlude where the protagonist gulps down a can to regain their focus. The video description proclaims that “experienced stalkers got an ace in the can, the same as 16 years ago” – a reference to the Non Stop brand’s usage in Shadow of Chornobyl within specific territories.
The Strider trailer confirms that the former Monolith stalker canonically survived the events of Call of Pripyat and is making a welcome return in the sequel. We also got a preview of Stalker 2’s industrial-synth combat music, with the assurance that we “already know what will happen in the next few minutes, so it’s time to prepare and endure.”
Finally, Stalker 2 received a new gameplay trailer at Summer Game Fest 2024 which featured several combat sequences, showing off various weapons. We also get a glimpse of the first Black NPC in the Stalker series, so it’s good to know the developers are taking on feedback after all this time. Our Stalker 2 Summer Game Fest preview calls it “beautiful and lethal in equal measure.”
Stalker 2 gameplay
Stalker 2 is set in the deadly exclusion zone, plagued by mutant creatures, warring factions, and strange anomalies. Stalker 2 revisits some of the same areas and places as the first game; it is an open-world game where you play as a lone stalker, choosing paths to define a branching storyline with several different endings. Using an upgraded detector, you can uncover artifacts and secrets in dangerous locations guarded by legendary mutants – including the returning Bloodsucker – with different subtypes for unpredictable behavior.
Game director Evgeniy Grygorovych lifted the lid on Stalker 2’s approach to realism, which combines the ‘fun’ factor of first-person shooters with “economy mode, where you count every bullet.” You can tailor your Stalker 2 weapons loadout with over 30 different types of guns and modifications. Stalker prides itself on realism in a thankfully unrealistic, terrifying world, so expect its weapons to stick close to their real-world counterparts, with some post-apocalyptic exceptions.
PCGamesN got the chance to get up close and personal with the FPS game for our Stalker 2 Gamescom preview. In our experience, Stalker 2 marries the difficulty of Dark Souls with the mechanical weight of Amnesia The Bunker, resulting in pulse-pounding combat where every choice counts. While we didn’t encounter any Stalker 2 cats, our preview certainly left a lasting impression.
Stalker 2 system requirements
Minimum
- OS Version: Windows 10
- Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 1600X / Intel Core i5-7600K
- Memory: 8 GB
- Graphics: AMD Radeon RX 580 8GB / NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6GB
- Disc space: 150 GB SSD
Maximum
- OS Version: Windows 10
- Processor: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X / Intel Core i7-9700K
- Memory: 16 GB
- Graphics: AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 8GB / NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER 8GB / NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11GB
- Disc space: 150 GB SSD
With only a short while left to prepare for the Stalker 2 release date, gear up for the horror game with a special edition MSI graphics card. Alternatively, if you’re happy with taking your current rig into the Exclusion Zone, check out some of the best new PC games to tide you over in the meantime, alongside some hotly anticipated upcoming PC games to play after you’ve rolled credits on Stalker 2.