In an announcement that shouldn’t surprise us (but it does disappoint), it was confirmed that Stalker 2: Heart of Chernobyl will now be released in 2023.
Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl – Gameplay Trailer
The game was scheduled to release on December 8, but development was halted earlier this year. Its development team: GSC Game World was involved in the invasion of Ukraine by Russia in March. After an apparent move for the studio, GSC Game World confirmed last month that development has resumed. At this time, it’s unclear how far into 2023 the game can be expected, but hopefully the developer will have more news throughout the year.
News of the Stalker 2 delay came to light during today’s Xbox Bethesda Showcase. The game will launch with Xbox Game Pass on day one, as well as an obvious commemorative console. The game is believed to be coming to other platforms after a period of exclusivity, but no specific details have been confirmed at the time of writing. Expectations are still pretty high for Stalker 2: Heart of Chernobyl, as we haven’t heard anything since 2009 with Stalker: Call of Pripyat. However, looking at world events that required this delay, it seems like a safe bet that most fans would understand.
Stalker 2 has seen many changes over the past year. At one point, there were going to be NFTs in GSC Game World, but plans were changed after fierce opposition from fans of the series. The game’s title also changed slightly earlier this year, when the spelling of “Chernobyl” was dropped in favor of “Chernobyl disaster“, the Ukrainian spelling of the city’s name.
