Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl Delayed Again

Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl, the first-person shooter survival horror title from GSC Game World, has been further delayed. The game, which has already faced multiple delays since its announcement trailer in 2020, will now release on November 20 instead of its previously planned September 5 release date. The latest delay was announced with a tongue-in-cheek release date trailer on Thursday, titled “Really, again?”

Stalker 2 Delayed Again

“We know you may be tired of waiting, and we greatly appreciate your patience,” GSC Game World’s message read alongside the new trailer. The developer said the two-month delay would allow them to fix more “unexpected anomalies,” or bugs.

Stalker 2 is also getting a Developer Deep Dive video on August 12, GSC Game World announced. “This detailed update includes exclusive interviews, tons of new footage, and a full video walkthrough of one of the game’s quests,” the developer said.

The latest delay comes after the game was delayed again earlier this year in January, with GSC Game World to announce a “final” release date of September 5. The Ukrainian developer had initially set a release date of April 2022 after revealing an extended gameplay trailer for Stalker 2 at E3 2021. The game’s development was hit hard following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with some GSC Game World employees even being sent to the frontlines of the conflict.

The upcoming shooter is the fourth game in the Stalker franchise and the first since 2009’s Stalker: Call of Pripyat. The game is set in an alternate version of the exclusion zone surrounding the Chernobyl nuclear disaster site.

Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl launches on Xbox Series S/X and PC on November 20. The game will be available on Game Pass day one.