Stalker 2 Has Sold Over A Million Copies

Stalker 2 has eclipsed one million sales just one day after launch, according to a post from the game’s official social media account: “No wonder it feels a bit crowded in the Zone. A million copies were sold, and many more stalkers joined the artifact hunt with Game Pass. This is just the start of our unforgettable adventure. The Heart of Chornobyl emanates stronger with each of us. Thank you, stalkers,” the post reads.

GSC Game World reported in 2021 that the Stalker franchise had sold over 15 million copies across three games: Shadow of Chernobyl, Clear Sky and Call of Pripyat. With one million copies already sold, Stalker 2 is well on its way to bolstering the series’ total sales numbers.

Enter the Zone

This is a strong start for Heart of Chornobyl, which had a generally positive critical reception. Many critics praised the game’s open-world and narrative but were critical of the technical issues plaguing the title. Our own Branden Lizardi awarded the game a 3/5 score, saying “It’s an interesting setting with well-realised characters, but it’s held back by unsatisfying gunplay and run-of-the-mill exploration.”

The Stalker community is no stranger to technical issues and bugs, with many openly embracing the “Eurojank” of the series. GSC Game World has committed to fixing all the game’s issues, but the community is already progressing rapidly on that front. With a game like Stalker 2, its imperfections are part of the charm and the community seems to understand and embrace that.

We understand that in such a game, there may still be rough edges: we literally haven’t released anything of this scale before. We’re absolutely committed to being here, monitoring your feedback, and quickly fixing any issues that need our attention. In the first days after release, we’ll be working with hotfixes, rolling them out as precisely as possible, but as frequently as we can. Then, we’ll switch to larger updates that include constant improvements,” GSC Game World shared in a post celebrating the game’s release.

Stalker 2 had a tumultuous development, with the game being delayed several times amid studio dormancy and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the country where GSC Game World was based before their move to Prague as a result of the war.

Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl is the long-awaited follow-up to the apocalyptic first-person shooter. As a Stalker, you must venture into the deadly Exclusion Zone, contending with mutants and warring factions alike, in search of valuable artifacts.