A Stalker 2 release date was announced at the Xbox and Bethesda Games E3 2021 showcase, with the developers also revealing gameplay, tidbits of the story, and characters. The game’s official title is Stalker 2: Heart of Chernobyl, following on from the first in the series, Shadow of Chernobyl.
Stalker 2 is an RPG game set in the exclusion zone, where monsters run riot, and humans can be friends and foes alike. You’ll have to find a way to survive the zone while also unraveling its mysteries. The scope for Stalker 2 looks huge, and could easily be one of the best PC games this year once it’s released.
Stalker 2 release date
According to Steam, the Stalker 2 release date will be December 2023. Take this listing as an estimate until we get a solid release date from the developers.
Stalker 2 trailers
After a hiatus of new details, the E3 2021 trailer shows us a lot of new information about Stalker 2, including a cameo from the series’ creator. The footage shows a cutscene of us sitting around a campfire, a place of respite from the relentless and dangerous world. The campfire scene is spliced with gameplay, including gunfight by 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 don’t know much about the story, the expanded open world adds survival mechanics, a life simulation system, and advanced AI. The developers have also confirmed that mod support will be available to give freedom to creative players.
Stalker 2 gameplay
Stalker 2 is set in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, an area 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 hidden in dangerous locations guarded by legendary mutants – including the returning Bloodsucker – with different subtypes for unpredictable behaviour.
You can also tailor your weapons loadout; there are over 30 different types of guns and modifications you can pick up and install along the way. 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.
Stalker 2 Game Pass
Stalker 2 will be released on Microsoft Game Pass day one, meaning that anyone with an active subscription to the service can play the open-world game as it launches.
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
That’s all we know about the Stalker 2 release date, but with the horror game arriving sometime this year, we’ll keep this page updated with all the latest news. You can pre-order Stalker 2 on the Microsoft Store now.
