You wonder what S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2: Heart of Chernobyl will be like? Here's what we know
14 years have passed since the release of the last S.T.A.L.K.E.R game, and now Heart of Chornobyl has a chance to attract both old fans and a new audience. The developers promise that this year you will be able to fight more mutants and roam the spaces of the enlarged Zone. Find out the game's release date here!
The release of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl, the fourth game in the series about Stalker's wanderings through the area devastated by the Chernobyl disaster, has become one of the biggest intrigues in the gaming industry in recent years, and its development period is perhaps the longest among all games. Shadow of Chernobyl released in 2007 by the Ukrainian studio GSC Game World, quickly acquired the status of a cult game, and in 2010 its creators announced the release of a sequel. However, due to financial and legal difficulties, work on it was suspended for several years, and only in 2018 the development team continued it, scheduling its release in 2021. However, since then, fans of the game have waited in vain, and the release date has been postponed several times.
The first trailer for Heart of Chornobyl was shown in the summer of 2020 at a Microsoft presentation, and a year later, at a similar event, the developers showed a trailer with gameplay and transferred the revived project for the first time. Then the game was promised to be released on April 28, 2022, but already in January 2022 the release date was postponed to December 8. Then, after the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine, it was postponed again, and the release was expected in 2023, but even then we were left without a new game. However, a new "Bolts & Bullets" trailer was released, which stated that the game will finally release in the first quarter of 2024.
In early 2024, we unexpectedly received another gameplay trailer for the Heart of Chornobyl. The trailer was published by Microsoft Xbox, and from its announcement we know that the game will be released for both PC and Xbox Series X|S, сoming day one to Xbox Game Pass. In the trailer itself, we see several of the game's characters sitting around a fire in a typical post-apocalyptic setting, listening to one of them play the guitar.
In addition, screenshots with an updated interface appeared on the game's page in the Epic Games Store online store. Similar photos from the upcoming game have been published before, but what's new about them is that the interface elements have changed. If promotional activity has begun, can we assume that the long-awaited release of the game is just around the corner? On January 14, 2024, the game creators again reported that the game still has many flaws, and it will take even more time to get it perfect. "Seeing the scope of polishing and understanding that we can't push your patience too much, we were absolutely dedicated to releasing the game in Q1 2024, and we worked extra hard to meet the release window. That, however, doesn't change the fact that at the beginning of this year, we still witnessed the certain amount of technical imperfections that hold S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 below the expected standards for the final experience our fans are waiting for," they wrote on January 16, 2024. But there is one important detail: they now promise that this date is final, and although it's hard to believe, this time everything looks absolutely serious.
Release of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: The Heart of Chernobyl is scheduled for September 5, 2024. Speaking about the style of the upcoming game, the studio insists that it will remain true to the spirit of the previous STALKERS, with the "atmosphere, hardcore style, harsh and inhospitable environment" from which we know the Zone.