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Wiki "S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2" redirects here. For the cancelled game, see S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 (2012). For the concept game, see S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 (2002).

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl is a next-gen sequel to the award-winning PC game franchise developed by GSC Game World, set to deliver a unique action experience of survival in the post-apocalyptic Chornobyl Exclusion Zone.
― GSC Game World

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl[note] is an upcoming first-person shooter and survival horror video game developed by GSC Game World and the fourth installment in the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series.

Initially announced after the release of S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat, development of the game was halted in 2012, the year of its intended release, following the dissolution of GSC Game World[1]. Development eventually resumed six years later, powered by Unreal Engine 5, with a target release in 2021. Following multiple delays, the release of the game is currently scheduled for September 5th, 2024.

Development[]

Stalker2 art uhd

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 Header concept art

On May 15th 2018, six years after the cancellation of the original game, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 was announced for a 2021 release by GSC Game World's Twitter account[2].

A day later, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 was announced by Sergiy Grygorovych, owner of GSC Game World, the developer behind S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series. He made the announcement on his Facebook page and news has spread around various gaming sites. The official teaser site, consisting of only a front page featuring the acronym S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 written in a large font, a year of presumed release and an e-mail address, has been also revealed.

Some time after the announcement, a challenge to "decipher" a code was posted on a GSC Game World Facebook page. Shortly thereafter, the Official GSC Twitter announced that part of the "Code" has been solved. A fan subtracted the year of the Chernobyl Disaster, 1986, from 2021, and got 35. The fan mentioned this oddity and thought it was of some significance. GSC has confirmed that this is part of some sort of code. An image of the number 35 was posted onto the official GSC Twitter aaccount, in the font style of the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 teaser website.

Some time later, between March 21st and March 29th 2019, the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 website was updated with a font change for the title and animated concept art featuring an unknown man wearing a gas mask. New social media links, some music and download links for said music and the concept art were also included, as well as images of previous games in the STALKER franchise alongside links to buy them from GOG and Steam, and finally an option to sign up for news.

On July 23rd 2020, the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 website was updated again, coinciding with the first trailer for the game being released on GSC Game World's YouTube channel. Said trailer was prominently displayed on the page, along with new music and concept art available to download, and an FAQ section giving further details about the game.

On March 26th 2021, the ID@Xbox YouTube channel showed a diary of the game's development. Zakhar Bocharov told information about the game and showed several renders of three factions: Duty, Freedom and Bandits. A new plugin was also shown. It makes variety of the same model more diverse.

On June 13th 2021, the day of the Xbox and Microsoft game reveals at E3 2021, GSC Game World gave a release date of April 28th, 2022. During the event, they showed a trailer which starts off with a character nicknamed Skif sitting around a campfire with 4 stalkers named Curly Vitya, Liolik, Mitay, and an unknown stalker. The trailer then cuts to Skif taking out a base full of bandit-like enemies, showing off the new gunplay in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2. The trailer cuts to one of Clear Sky's old lookout towers, which is now surrounded by an anomaly field. The trailer then shows a Flesh getting ripped apart by an anomaly. Skif pulls out a new detector called "Gilka" and finds an artifact called "Jelly", which recovers stamina in-game. The trailer then cuts to the interior of a building in the city of Chernobyl. In it, Skif can be seen asking Bolshak, presumably a new technician in the Zone, how to get into the "Basement." The trailer then shows Skif exploring an abandoned lab, presumably Lab X-18. Skif then gets ambushed by a Bloodsucker, showing off the new textures even more. The trailer then cuts to a building overlooking the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. On it Skif is confronted by the Stranger, who says that the Zone couldn't be free unless that man died. He then goes on to say that the Zone gave him a new life. It should be noted that the Stranger is seen wearing a Helmetless SEVA Suit, an outfit only worn by Strelok in previous titles. This scene shows off the new photogrammetry processes used in the game. The trailer cuts to a destroyed building near the famous Duga Radar, now covered in Electro anomalies. A person, presumably Skif, can be seen firing a Gauss Rifle multiple times. The trailers cuts back to the campfire a final time, showing off a fifth stalker named Sergiy saying "Good hunting, Stalker." when Skif gets up to leave for Pripyat. Sergiy is none other than Sergiy Grygorovych, the founder of GSC Game World.

On 12 January 2022, GSC Game World announced S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 had been delayed until December 2022 citing "thorough testing and polishing" as reason[3]. To add to this, on 24 February 2022, GSC Game World announced the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This may mean cancellation of the game as "the future is unknown"[4].

Later still, on March 14 2022, GSC Game World decided to change the subtitle of the game to "Heart of Chornobyl", the Ukrainian spelling for Chernobyl, in support of Ukraine, due to the war with Russia[5].

In May 2022, GSC Game World relocated its offices to Prague, Czech Republic to continue the development following the relocation of the employees in order to work safely[6]. In December 30, 2022, GSC Game World began to release the trailer videos starting with the "Come to Me" Official Trailer[7].

On June 12, 2022, it was announced at the Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase that the game was aiming for a release in 2023[8]. On June 14, GSC Game World showcased the opening cinematic of the game at the Xbox Games Showcase Extended 2022[9]. This was accompanied by a developer diary in which the developers talked about the impact of the war on the lives and careers of GSC's employees[10].

On September 7, 2022, it was reported that Microsoft had begun to refund players who had pre-ordered the game on the Xbox Series X|S consoles due to uncertainties in the game's release date[11]. In response, GSC denied that there would be future delays[12]. Later that month, GSC denied rumors that the game was undergoing issues in its development and that it would not be released before 2024-2025[13].

On December 29, 2022, the official trailer "Come to Me" was published on GSC's official Youtube channel.

On March 12, 2023, GSC said that they have been enduring constant cyberattacks for over a year and warned of potential future leaks and spoilers[14]. On June 1, 2023, GSC said that a development build had been leaked to the public[15].

In August 2023, a playable demo of the game was made available at Gamescom[16]. It was also confirmed that the release of the game had been delayed once more, to Q1 2024[17]. The demo sparked some criticism over the game being "downgraded" compared to what had been showcased before, a complaint that was addressed by GSC officials[18].

On November 30, 2023, a new trailer titled "Strider Story Trailer" was released on GSC's official Youtube channel.

On January 16, 2024, GSC published a video on its official YouTube channel setting the final release date to September 5, 2024[19].

Release[]

The game is currently scheduled for release on September 5, 2024[19]. It will be the first game in the series not to be exclusively available on PC, as the game will also be available on the Xbox Series X|S consoles at launch through Xbox Game Pass[20]. On PC, the game will be distributed by Steam[21] and GOG[22]. Though the game is currently exclusive to Microsoft platforms, leaked documents from the Epic Games v. Apple lawsuit have suggested that this exclusivity could be only for three months after release[23].

Trailers[]

Gameplay Images[]

See also[]

General information[]

Articles[]

Notes[]

  • ^[note] The game was initially subtitled Heart of Chernobyl, but the subtitle was changed to the anglicized Ukrainian spelling of the name on March 14, 2022, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine

References[]

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