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 Chornobyl 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 Stalker 2 release date is Thursday, September 5, 2024. Developer GSC Game World confirmed the delay in a final release date announcement trailer and a statement stating that Stalker 2 would miss its initial release window of Q1 2024 due to “technical issues.”
This latest delay comes with assurances that September marks the “final” release date. GSC Game World’s statement attributes the delay to Stalker 2’s reception after its public debut at Gamescom 2023, stating that “on the technical side of things — the game needs 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 exclusively deal, meaning that it’s also coming to Xbox Series X|S.
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.
Finally, 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.”
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.
You can also tailor your weapons loadout; you can pick up and install over 30 different types of guns and modifications 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.
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
That’s all we know about the Stalker 2 release date, and with only a few months more to wait for the horror game, be sure to check back regularly for all the latest news. In the meantime, check out some of the best games of 2023 and some hotly anticipated upcoming PC games coming very soon.