STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl release date, pre-order, gameplay & trailer

It will be our first official outing to The Zone since 2009's Call of Pripyat, but there have been many mods over the years that have kept the game alive since then.

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Originally slated for release at the end of 2022, the war in Ukraine pushed the release date back further and further, but no one in their right mind could blame developers GSC Game World for this.

This last delay is to polish the game, so that it's as ready as it can be come September, though some may miss the hilarious bugs found in the original games.

When is the STALKER 2 release date?

STALKER 2 will release on 5th September 2024.

The game has understandably been delayed multiple times, owing to the war in Ukraine, which prompted GSC Game World to relocate to Prague in the Czech Republic.

A fire in the new office didn't do much to help, either, so it's great to see the long-awaited sequel to the iconic series finally get a concrete release date, and the official STALKER 2 Twitter (now X) account goes into a bit more detail.

Fortunately, brilliant mods for the original games are still coming out, as well as all the upcoming games in 2024 to help keep us busy.

Can I pre-order STALKER 2?

Yes, you can order STALKER 2 now.

Product pages are live on the game's official website, as well as Steam, the Epic Games Store, the Xbox Store and third-party retailers like CD Keys.

If you want a physical copy, you can either pre-order it directly from the developers or at GAME.

And so, you can take your pick and order your copy of STALKER 2 from whichever platform or shop you prefer.

What is the STALKER 2 Pre-Order Bonus?

Whichever version of STALKER 2 you buy - there are four to choose from, as we'll get to in a second - you will also receive these items as a pre-order bonus if you place your order before the launch day of 5th September 2024.

• Extended campfire content
• Exclusive weapon skin
• Exclusive armour skin
• 'Early bird' multiplayer badge

How much will STALKER 2 cost?

The STALKER 2 price has now been confirmed, and there are four different versions (each with a different price point) for you to consider splashing the cash on.

The Standard Edition of STALKER 2 has a recommended retail price of £49.99 GBP, although a deal that is currently running at CD Keys will let you buy it for £29.99 instead.

The Deluxe Edition of STALKER 2 has an RRP of £64.99, but CD Keys will give you a quid off that price. The Deluxe Edition version comes with the following bits of extra content:

• Special Extra Quest
• Digital Artbook
• Official Soundtrack
• One costume and three weapon skins for the single-player campaign
• Two costumes and three weapon skins for the multiplayer experience

The Ultimate Edition of STALKER 2 has an RRP of £94.99 GBP, or one pound cheaper at CD Keys. It comes with all the bits listed above, as well as these extra goodies:

• Four further weapon skins for the multiplayer experience
• Two story expansions
• Season Pass

There are also the physical editions of the game, which come with even more goodies.

The Standard Edition contains the following:

• Steel book
• Letter from developers
• Souvenir zone permit
• Sticker pack

The Limited Edition takes things up a notch, and includes everything in the Standard Edition and the following:

• Zone map
• Poster
• Faction patches
• Military token
• Keychain (multi-tool) with fire starter

The Collectors Edition strays into silly money territory ($179.99), but you do get a lot, including everything mentioned before and the following:

• Art book
• Stalker figurine

There is also a very fancy Retail Ultimate Edition, pictured above, which costs $379.99 This luxury physical version of the game will include everything from the Ultimate Edition and these extras on top of everything else:

• Artefact container lamp
• STALKER backpack

Is STALKER 2 coming to Game Pass?

Yes, Stalker 2 will be coming to Xbox Game Pass when it releases on 5th September 2024.

This is due to it being an Xbox exclusive, which seems befitting of such a PC-centric title.

Perhaps one day we might see The Zone come to the PlayStation, but for the time being GSC Game World seems to be saying: "Get out of here, SONY."

Is STALKER 2 a remake?

Seeing as STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl is actually the fourth game in this franchise - following in the footsteps of 2007's Shadow of Chornobyl, 2008's Clear Sky and 2009's Call of Pripyat - you might be wondering if STALKER 2 is a remake.

We can confirm that STALKER 2 is not a remake, with the game's official website instead describing it as "a next-gen sequel to the award-winning PC game franchise developed by GSC Game World".

It's a sequel to all the previous games, then, which makes that number in the title a little bit confusing.

Do you need to play STALKER 1 to play STALKER 2?

Considering that there are three previous STALKER games (as explained in the previous section), you might be wondering if you need to play STALKER 1 or any other game before you play STALKER 2.

"STALKER 2 is a standalone project that can be enjoyed on its own," GSC has said in a statement on its website.

The developers added: "At the same time, we recommend complet[ing] the previous games for the maximum level of immersion."

Basically, then, it's up to you whether or not you want to play through the previous STALKER games before jumping into STALKER 2. If you've got the time, why not give those classic titles a go?

Which consoles and platforms can play STALKER 2?

STALKER 2 will launch on PC, Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, the developers have confirmed, with the computer-based release being split across Steam and the Epic Games Store.

That might leave some gamers asking, 'Will STALKER 2 come to PS5?' The answer to that question appears to be no, at least for the time being, with there being no mention of PlayStation consoles on the game's official website.

What is the STALKER 2 gameplay?

STALKER 2 gameplay will include a single-player campaign at launch, with a multiplayer experience said to be "coming soon after the release, as a free update".

Once again, gameplay in STALKER 2 will be experienced from a first-person perspective, with survival horror and gunplay being the main overriding themes of the experience.

Expect to navigate lethal environments filled with otherwordly anomalies and powerful artefacts - not to mention deadly foes who will put a bullet in your back for a tin of irradiated beans belonging to all sorts of warring factions.

To take a look at the game in action, check out the latest Gamescom STALKER 2 gameplay trailer here:

STALKER 2 PC requirements

The minimum and recommended PC specs to run STALKER 2 have been confirmed well ahead of time, with the developers suggesting that as the minimum:

• OS Version: Windows 10/Windows 11
• Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 1600X/Intel Core i5-7600K
• Memory: 8GB
• Graphics: AMD Radeon RX 580 8GB/NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6GB
• Disc space: 150GB SSD

The recommended PC build for STALKER 2 looks like this:

• OS Version: Windows 10/Windows 11
• Processor: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X/Intel Core i7-9700K
• Memory: 16GB
• Graphics: AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 8GB/NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER 8GB/NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11GB
• Disc space: 150GB SSD

Seeing as the game was updated to Unreal Engine 5 during its development, we very well may see these requirements get bumped up a little, though having to support the Series S will help lower end hardware.

STALKER 2 NFT explained

The NFT plan for STALKER 2 is now off the table following a less than positive response - and we are putting that very mildly - from the gaming community.

The game developers from GSC Game World had planned to team up with some NFT specialists from a company called DMarket to bring a range of NFT content into STALKER 2, an official announcement blog previously confirmed.

This partnership was intended to result in "the creation of STALKER 2 Metaverse, where players can truly own a piece of the game". This essentially meant that players would have been able to buy and own ultra-rare digital items in the game.

This announcement stated that the project "will use blockchain technology to let the community own a piece of [the game]", with GSC and DMarket planning to create a situation where the "rights to certain unique items will belong to players [for] the first time for the AAA video game".

As part of this project, there was set to be an auction held in January 2022, with players invited to bid for a chance to become "the first-ever metahuman".

A digital likeness of the winning bidder would then have been "released and exposed to hundreds of millions of gamers worldwide" and would have appeared in the game as a non-playable character (NPC).

It was an interesting direction for them to head in, but the STALKER 2 NFT plan has now been binned. The developers stated bluntly on Twitter (now X): "Based on the feedback we received, we’ve made a decision to cancel anything NFT-related in STALKER 2." And that was the end of that.

STALKER 2 trailer

There have been quite a few trailers for STALKER 2 at this point, as interest in the game has amassed millions of views on YouTube. You can take a look here at the latest Strider trailer that delves more into the story and setting.

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