At Gamescom 2023, Ukrainian game developer GSC Game World gave another update on its highly anticipated first-person shooter horror game S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl. It did push the game back until next year, but we also got our best look yet at gameplay in a new trailer.
The trailer begins with the player emerging from a sewer into the game’s irradiated wasteland. We see the player slowly move around a few different environments before shooting at a supernatural enemy in a facility. The trailer only gets more intense from there as we see the player kit out their gun before taking on a variety of enemies, from humans to dogs to more disgusting-looking supernatural enemies. At the end of the trailer, we learn that S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 will now launch in the first quarter of 2024 and that preorders are finally open.
This long-awaited sequel to a PC cult classic has had a very turbulent development. It was originally supposed to be released in April 2022, but has gotten delayed multiple times due to development challenges and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Some of its developers are fighting with the Ukrainian Armed Forces, while others moved to the Czech Republic to finish the game. On top of all of that, GSC Game World has faced multiple cyberattacks and game leaks it attributes to Russia.
Despite all of the challenges GSC Game World has faced in the development of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2, the game seems to be shaping up nicely. This new trailer is full of intense action and very atmospheric moments, and previews from people playing the game at Gamescom 2023 are positive. Hopefully, GSC Game World can take this positive momentum and meet its new release window.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl will launch sometime in the first quarter of 2024 for PC and Xbox Series X/S.
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