Stalker News, Tips, Tricks & Ideas

With STALKER 2 long-awaited release scheduled for later this year, there’s been an unsurprising spike in interest surrounding the original trilogy which debuted on PC almost two decades ago. Capitalising on this curiosity, Ukrainian publisher GSC recently launched STALKER: Legends of the Zone Trilogy, bringing the three games to Xbox and PlayStation for the first time.

GSC Game World released a new trailer for STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl focusing on the environment of The Zone. The area surrounding the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant is the main setting for the sequel. With improved graphics, STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl enhances the foundation laid down by previous franchise entries.

The STALKER: Legends of the Zone Trilogy hasn’t just been announced today, it’s been shadow-dropped straight onto consoles as well! The full trilogy bundle and the individual games are available for Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and PlayStation 4.

The STALKER: Legends of the Zone Trilogy hasn’t just been announced today, it’s been shadow-dropped straight onto consoles as well! The full trilogy bundle and the individual games are available for Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One – a PlayStation release also leaked earlier today, but we’re awaiting confirmation.

An unannounced console game bundle that seemingly features the first three entries of the STALKER franchise has appeared online. The beloved shooter series' next game, STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl, is set to launch later in 2024.

STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl is coming to Xbox Game Pass on Thursday, September 5, 2024 as a day one game. STALKER fans have well over a decade to get their hands on STALKER 2. Unfortunately, the ambitious first-person shooter has been delayed multiple times, with this latest delay seeing it pushed out of its previously-announced Q1 2024 release window.

Ukrainian developer GSC Game World has seemingly quietly updated some STALKER 2 screenshots, showing more vibrant environments.

The products discussed here were independently chosen by our editors. GameSpot may get a share of the revenue if you buy anything featured on our site.

GSC Game Worlds has released a new story trailer for STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl, introducing players to Strider and more of the game’s story. STALKER 2 is nowdue to release for Xbox Series X|S and PC in Q1 2024. It will also be available via Xbox Game Pass.

STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl is one that a lot of horror fans have been looking forward to. While the game is scheduled to release sometime in the first quarter of next year, the developer GSC Game World brings us another teaser.

The game will be released in Q1 2024.

GSC Game Worlds has released a new story trailer for STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl, introducing players to Strider and more of the game’s story. STALKER 2 is nowdue to release for Xbox Series X|S and PC in Q1 2024. It will also be available via Xbox Game Pass.

I don't drive myself, and while that's mostly because I can't afford a car, don't really need one for work and have wibbly environmentalist sensibilities, it's also because the experience of driving, for me, has been thoroughly spoiled by videogames. I mean, just look at this trailer for Ironwood's Vandemeerian vehicle survival roguelike Pacific Drive. How am I supposed to drive on some stupid road after watching that? What's the point of cars if there are no floating cryptid lifeforms, inexplicable walls of energy or lost research facilities involved?

GSC Game World has shared the latest trailer for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl, and the return of a beloved character: Strider.

Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl has been voted as the number-one most-wanted game by the PC Gaming Show: Most Wanted council. 

Are you looking to showcase your brand in front of the brightest minds of the gaming industry? Consider getting a custom GamesBeat sponsorship. Learn more.

STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl is drawing ever nearer, and at today’s PC Gaming Show, GSC Game World delivered a new story trailer for the game. The big news, is that the trailer features none other than Strider, a key character from the previous entry in the series, STALKER: Call of Pripyat. We also get a variety of other hints that this isn’t a narrative reboot – this game will be carrying on the story from past games, so make sure your STALKER lore is in order before you jump in. You can check out the new STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl story trailer, below.

STALKER 2 developer GSC Game World was recently interviewed by the Chinese website GamerSky. Among various questions, the development team commented on the current Q1 2024 launch window.

GSC Game World has confirmed that they are working on 60FPS for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl on Xbox Series X.

Cities Skylines 2 is almost upon us, and from what we’ve seen, it’s delivering every minute and specific little detail we could want in a city builder. At the same time, the late Soviet era aesthetic of Stalker – and the upcoming Stalker 2 – provides one of the best-looking environments in all of gaming. Those big factories. The chunky old cars. Metro 2033, Metro Last Light, and Metro Redux make the most of the Soviet style, which brings to vivid life a kind of decrepit old world waiting to be reborn. You put all this together, the mechanics of Cities Skylines, and the visual flair of Metro and Stalker, and you get Workers and Resources: Soviet Republic, a superlative city sim that’s just signed to a new publisher, and available to try with a free Steam download.

Skif is lying in the moss, a mutated dog gnawing at his shin. He pulls a pistol to fend it off, but — gasp — the clip is empty. Just before it can chew on his neck, he musters a deft kick, booting the pooch into a gravitational anomaly. The dog floats delicately in its gentle embrace before being compressed into a shower of meaty chunks. This constitutes my warm welcome into the unforgiving world of STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl.

STALKER 2 developer GSC Game World seems cursed with bad luck. As you might remember, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, most of the team relocated to Prague to work from a more secure location.

A fire has destroyed part of Stalker developer GSC Game World's offices in Prague.

The developer of Stalker 2, GSC Game World, has had a fire at in their offices.

Just weeks after Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl finally solidified its Q1 2024 release window and the team saw its hard work hacked and leaked, the survival horror shooter has suffered another set back: a devastating fire.

A fire has destroyed part of the offices of Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl developer GSC Game World.

The offices of Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl developer GSC Game World have suffered a fire.

As reported by Czech publication Vortex, on September 7, Stalker 2 developer GSC Game World suffered a fire at the Prague office it moved into last year following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. GSC Game World employees have stated that no one was hurt in the incident, but one of the three floors occupied by the dev sustained heavy damage and requires «full restoration.»

Maksym Yanchyi, lead Xbox programmer on Stalker 2, lets out a deep sigh. It’s not the first time Mak, as he’s called by his colleagues, steadies himself before revealing the horrifying difficulties the developers of one of the most anticipated shooters of 2024 face on a daily basis. Right now he’s talking about Russian hackers and their ongoing attempts to breach GSC Game World’s security systems, the constant harassment, and even death threats that have come from the theft of personal information.

It has been 16 years since STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl. That means it’s also been 16 years since I last played a STALKER game. I admired the original but never loved its wonky, ambitious heart enough to explore its two follow-ups. But despite that decade-plus time away from the series, when I sat down to play STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl at gamescom 2023 it felt like I’d never been away. As if reactivating a long-dormant muscle, I found its creeping pace and scrappy gunfights instantly familiar. That’s good news for devout fans of the cult PC series, but perhaps more of a challenge for the potential legion of newcomers that will arrive at launch via Game Pass.

STALKER 2 had a big presence at Gamescom 2023 despite being absent from the inaugural Opening Night Live show hosted by Geoff Keighley. A demo is playable on the show floor, allowing GSC Game World to gather feedback directly from fans, and the developers have also shared a new trailer that confirms yet another delay into Q1 2024 (as we had noticed from the updated fact sheet).

Post-apocalyptic first-person shooter, Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl has had its release date pushed back to early 2024.

Yesterday it was announced that STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl has been delayed to early 2024, and while that’s disappointing, GSC Game World has dropped a new trailer to tide fans over. This is probably the largest chunk of real gameplay we’ve seen to date – no cutscenes or polished-up beauty shots, just guns a-blazing, freaky mutants, and dogs getting sucked into anomalies. You can check out the new STALKER 2 trailer for yourself, below.

It's been a long time coming, but it looks like STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl will finally be coming out early next year, with developer GSC World hitting gamescom to talk all about their highly anticipated sequel. And GSC has quite the story to tell: after being announced and then canceled in 2011, revived in 2018, and then delayed amid Russia's unvasion of Ukraine. But now, we've finally got more to see of STALKER 2.

Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine is ongoing, sadly with no end to the conflict in sight, and its impacts continue to be felt globally and most acutely in Ukraine itself. Developer GSC Game World was based in Kyiv and, since the war began, has been facing the direst of circumstances: development of Stalker 2 was temporarily paused while it helped some employees flee the conflict zone, while other staff are volunteering or have signed up for the Ukrainian armed forces.

It looks as though Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl may now be released in early 2024.

Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl is currently set to release in the first quarter of 2024.

After plenty of speculation, we may have just learned when STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl is finally coming thanks to the developer’s own fact sheet: Q1 of 2024.

When the Plaion Store seemingly leaked the release date of STALKER 2 (December 1st), fans were hoping that would turn out to be true. After all, the last word from developer GSC Game World was still December 2023, as currently still listed on the Steam page.

Fans of the Stalker franchise have been waiting a good while now for Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl. In fact, this game was initially set to launch all the way back in 2012 before it was canceled. Now we’re once again getting ready for the game as in 2018, the developers picked it back up with the game being developed using Unreal Engine 5. However, getting this game through the finish line has been anything but smooth.

Xbox boss Phil Spencer has opened Xbox's Gamescom booth with a short address where he mentions some of the games playable at the event, among them Stalker 2, which he says is currently having the final touches added.

Big-time Xbox exclusive FPS STALKER 2 has a rumored release date that's coming up soon...but do we believe it? We discuss the rumor. Plus: we engage in a lengthy discussion about Xbox's new eight-strike behavior-enforcement system for Xbox Live, go over the great Xbox Game Pass lineup leading up to Starfield's release, and more!

It’s unfortunate that STALKER 2 never made its April 2022 release date. However, it appears as though the long-awaited FPS horror game from GSC could be launched at the start of December, even though there’s been no official confirmation.

Stalker sequel Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl will release in December, according to distributor Plaion.

Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl's lengthy development might come to an end soon, with its distributor suddenly listing a release date of December 1, 2023. While this hasn't been officially confirmed, this date doesn't seem to be a placeholder being used on the website, so developer GSC Game World could be poised to make an announcement soon.

STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl may have been given a December 1, 2023, according to distributor Plaion’s website.

Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl looks set to release on 1st December, 2023.

Xbox console exclusive Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl could be set for release before the end of the year, according to a distributor listing.

STALKER 2 might be less than four months away from release if a new listing on the official German PLAION Store is to be believed. As spotted by fellow press member Andrew Marmo, the store mentions a December 1st release date, and it might not be a placeholder.

Early in Baldur’s Gate 3 you’ll face powerful enemies and difficult encounters. Combat isn’t easy even when you’ve gathered a party of Rogues, Barbarians and Wizards. You’ll need every advantage you can get, and whether you’re leveling up your own Rogue / Ranger or putting one in your party, you may need a few tips to get the most out of sneak attacks. With the right combination of skills, you can attack up to x6 times in a single action. That won’t happen until you’re (at least) Level 8 and only if you’re really serious about min / maxing — even if you want a general build, which is totally viable, you might want to give some of these tricks a try.

The first public playable demos of Stalker 2 and Payday 3 are among the highlights visitors to the Xbox Gamescom booth can look forward to, with many of the biggest upcoming games for the rest of 2023 lined up to appear at the show. Along with the hands-on Stalker 2 demo and other playable games including Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty and Armored Core 6, there’ll also be new looks at Starfield and Forza Motorsport at the show.

We are finally getting a substantial update on S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl.

STALKER 2 is one of those games that required extreme patience from its fans. The sequel to the cult survival horror first-person shooter game was first announced in 2010 for a 2012 release date, but GSC Game World was dissolved in late 2011, seemingly putting an end to the project. The Ukrainian studio was resurrected three years later, in December 2014, though they decided to work on Cossacks 3 first.