Following another delay earlier this year, you’ll be able to start collecting the Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl achievements on November 20, when the game leaves our list of upcoming Game Pass games and launches on Xbox Series X|S and PC. Ukrainian developer GSC Game World has praised Xbox for its support with Stalker 2 and the numerous challenges the team has faced in recent years.
Stalker 2 will get two story expansions and “several” free post-launch updates
Stalker 2 launches as an Xbox console exclusive in November, dropping straight into Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass, and GSC Game World’s PR manager Zakhar Bocharov has praised Microsoft for its support. “Microsoft doesn’t put any demands in terms of the release date or the content. They’re not our publishers. It’s just the Game Pass deal,” Bocharov told The Gamer. “Personally, I never expected a corporation of this size to be so supportive. I can’t say the exact cases, but they helped in situations where they were not exactly supposed to. So, they could easily [have said], ‘No, that’s not on us. That’s with you guys. Good luck. Figure it out.’”
GSC Game World’s post-apocalyptic sequel was originally down to launch in 2022, but continued challenges caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have led to multiple delays as the devs attempt to work in unimaginably difficult circumstances. Bocharov praised Xbox boss Phil Spencer for being “very supportive and caring” as the team navigates its current situation. “I never expected a corporation to be this close to the developers who are in a bad situation,” Bocharov said. “It was spectacular. That’s the professional connection we value a lot, because it would have been much different without them.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Stalker 2’s lead producer Slava Lukyanenka confirmed that modding tools will be added following the game’s launch and that we can expect “several small, free DLC updates,” as well as “two big story expansions.”
As for the game’s performance, Lukyanenka says that while GSC was hesitant to sacrifice Stalker 2’s resolution for a performance mode at first, they’ve managed to get the game running at 60fps on Xbox Series X, and 35fps on Xbox Series S. Lukyanenka says there is still “a lot of space for optimization,” but Xbox is helping the team.
Last month, GSC Game World revealed a developer deep dive for Stalker 2, which looks like it’ll be a hardcore survival experience.
