S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl gameplay trailer is released

GSC Game World has released a new trailer and screenshots for open-world first-person shooter S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl dubbed Come to Me. The video contains footage of cutscenes and gameplay that reveal more details of the upcoming game’s events, which will take place in a huge open world and develop according to a non-linear plot.

“We dedicate this trailer to the fallen heroes who gave their lives for the defense of Ukraine. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank all the support we have received from our players and partners over the past months. In the most difficult times, even simple words can do wonders. Thank you for staying with us during this difficult time!”

GSC Game World commented.

The release of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chernobyl will take place in 2023 on PC and Xbox Series X/S. The game will be available on Game Pass from the day of release and is also available for pre-order on Steam, GOG, and the studio’s official website.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chernobyl release backstory

• GSC Game World studio first showed the teaser of the game back on December 2020. There was no exact release date at the time, but the game was expected to be released around 2021.
• On June 13, 2021, the first gameplay trailer was released, and the studio announced the start of pre-orders for the game on its Twitter. The official release date then became April 28, 2022, for Xbox and PC platforms.
• Later, rumors began to circulate that S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chernobyl will be postponed to the fall of 2022. Ultimately, it turned out to be more than true — the game was indeed postponed, but immediately to 2023.

On February 24, a full-scale war was launched, and the release date became completely illusory. Developers said that many of the studio’s employees went to serve in the Armed Forces, and some of them evacuated.

On June 2022, during the Xbox Games Showcase Extended event, quite unexpectedly, GSC Game World studio revealed the video diary of the developers, who have been working on the game during the war. It showed what the war in Ukraine looks like: sirens, the devastation caused by Russia’s missile attacks on the area near the company’s office, destroyed Irpin, and evacuation of employees.