STALKER 2 Delayed Once Again, Pushes Release Date To November 2024

The highly anticipated first-person shooter (FPS) STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl has announced unfortunate news as developer GSC Game World pushes back the game's release once again. The developer has cited "the team breathing room to address technical issues with the game," but it provided some good news that the game will still be released in 2024, with its new release date confirmed to be 20th November 2024.

The developer initially intended to release Stalker 2 on 5th September 2024, but as the development team needs additional time, they hope to "bring the final release closer to the experience that the fans expect." There will be more STALKER 2 news on the horizon as a Developer Deep Dive is scheduled to premiere on 12th August 2024 in collaboration with Xbox, which will feature new interviews with the team, an overview of the game's world and locations, and a global premiere of a walkthrough for the game's story quest.

According to game director Yevhen Grygorovych in an official press statement, "We know you might be tired of waiting, and we truly appreciate your patience. These two additional months will give us the chance to fix more "unexpected anomalies" (or simply "bugs," as you call them). We are always grateful for your ongoing support and understanding - it means the world to us. We're just as eager as you are to finally release the game and for you to experience it for yourself."

Following its initial announcement in 2010, STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl has had a long yet documented development that saw the team face numerous challenges, including layoffs, build cancellations, and more. The studio announced in a Facebook post in 2018 that development on STALKER 2 has begun, and it would take three years for a gameplay trailer, which debuted during the Xbox and Bethesda conference at E3 2021 with a release date of 28th April 2022.

The developer faced one of its most significant challenges in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which they uploaded multiple videos to their YouTube channel sharing their developer diaries with the world as several members left Ukraine or joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine or various humanitarian organizations. As a result, the game's development was halted momentarily as parts of the studio moved to the Czech Republic to continue working on STALKER 2, for which the game's subtitle, Heart of Chornobyl, was unveiled, likely to reflect its Ukrainian spelling, as reported by PC Gamer.

With the development team needing more time on STALKER 2, the game has been given its "final release" date of 20th November 2024 for PC via Epic Games Store, GOG.com, Steam, Windows, and Xbox Series X|S consoles, with pre-orders available. The game will also be available at launch through Xbox Game Pass, for which more game details for the forthcoming FPS will take place in the aforementioned Developer Deep Dive on 12th August 2024.