It’s been a long, long road for STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl, and it seems like it’s been delayed again. A newly spotted fact sheet available on the game’s website (via Gematsu) pegs the game as a Q1 2024 release, meaning it will miss its previously announced 2023 window. That’s not yet confirmed, however, with the game still listed for a December 2023 release on Steam.
Either way, the game is expected to feature during one of the upcoming Xbox Live from the Showfloor livestreams at Gamescom over the next couple of days, so maybe we’ll get a final date there. In more positive news, Phil Spencer did mention today that developer GSC Game World is “trying to put the last touches” on the game, which can only be a good sign.
This version of STALKER 2 was first announced in 2018. A slow trickle of information followed until E3 2021 when the game received its first release date of April 28, 2022. In January of that year, STALKER 2 was delayed to December 8, 2022 to ensure it met the quality bar the team was aiming for. However, development paused briefly when Russia invaded the team’s home country of Ukraine in early 2022 and the team relocated to Prague in the Czech Republic. When next we saw the game in December 2022, it was given a vague 2023 release window.
When it does finally arrive, it will be available on PC through most storefronts, Xbox Series X|S, and Xbox Game Pass.
