S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl Delayed (Yet Again)

Developer GSC Game World announced that the upcoming  first-person shooter S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl has been delayed yet again from its previously planned Q1 2024 release window to September 5 as “the game apparently needed more time in the oven.” A release date trailer was also released. It will launch for Xbox Series X/S and PC via Steam, Epic Games Store, and GOG. It will also be available via Xbox Game Pass.

The full message regarding the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl delay via the developer:

While there is absolutely no way to make another delay sound less dim, we decided to be clear about our reasons to postpone the game for the sake of yet another wave of polishing.

During Gamescom 2023, GSC Game World decided to show a small part of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 to the players publicly for the first time ever. This one-time initiative then transformed into a journey from one event to another across Poland, France, Brazil, Singapore and other countries. Thousands of players were able to play the game themselves and give the much-needed direct feedback afterwards.

Two key points emerged from that.

The first one was: it absolutely felt and played like a S.T.A.L.K.E.R. game, which basically summed up both the key intention and the main inspiration for the project from the very beginning. The second one was: on the technical side of things, the game apparently needed more time in the oven.

Throughout the frankly challenging development process, time was of the team’s main essence. Seeing the scope of polishing and understanding the limits of the players’ patience, GSC was absolutely dedicated to releasing the game in Q1 2024. That, however, doesn’t change the fact that at the beginning of this year, certain technical imperfections still hold S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 below the expected standards for the final experience the fans are waiting for.

This extended journey to the release will be supported with much more content from the game to be shared later this year.

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