Everything you need to know about STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl

It has taken a lot of work, but STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl is finally here. After years and years of development, the sequel created by the Ukrainian studio GSC Game World is eager to prove its worth and strength.

If you are one of those thinking about getting it, here we tell you everything you need to know about STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl.

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When is STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl coming out?

Stalker 2, officially named S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl, was released just a few hours ago, this past November 20, 2024 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X | S, and PC. In just 24 hours on the market, GSC Game World has announced that the title has sold more than one million copies, an impressive figure.

How many editions does STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl have?

The Ukrainian video game has a total of four different editions, which are divided as follows:

• Standard Edition: the base game, metal box, developers’ card, license for the zone, and sticker pack, for $59.99.
• Limited Edition: everything above plus a zone map, poster, faction patches, military badge, and a (multi-purpose) keychain with lighter, for $79.99.
• Collector’s Edition: everything above plus the art book and a Stalker figure, for $179.99.
• Ultimate Edition: everything above plus an artifact lamp and a Stalker backpack, for $379.99.

What are the technical requirements for STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl?

It’s not that it demands very high technical requirements for the minimum configuration, but you will need to have a good PC if you want to enjoy STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl at recommended quality. These are the following:

Minimum

• OS Version: Windows 10 x64 / Windows 11 x64.
• Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 1600X / Intel Core i7-7700K.
• Memory: 16 GB Dual Channel.
• Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB, AMD Radeon RX 580 8 GB, Intel Arc A750.
• Storage Space: SSD 160 GB.

Recommended

• OS Version: Windows 10 x64 / Windows 11 x64.
• Processor: AMD Ryzen 7 5800X / Intel Core i7-11700.
• Memory: 32 GB Dual Channel.
• Graphics: AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT, Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti or Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070.
• Storage Space: SSD 160 GB.

What is STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl?

Behind STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl lies the heart of Chernobyl, with The Zone as the main objective. Returning to the context we already knew from its first installment, it’s now time to embark on a journey where we will have to fight against stalkers, mutants, and more anomalous beings in a completely devastated and post-apocalyptic world.

STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl once again bets on first-person action, all combined with the best possible survival experience thanks to the world responding to the decisions made by the players. Additionally, it does so with an impressive visual section, as the game takes full advantage of the power of Unreal Engine 5 to bring out the best in terms of image quality. Motion capture and photogrammetry tools have been used to achieve greater immersion.

What has happened during the development of STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl?

Although it is hard to believe, the second part of Stalker was announced in 2010, with a release planned for 2012. This project, logically, ended up being canceled due to the studio’s financial problems.

After all this, the studio underwent a profound makeover and reshuffling of faces until, in 2018, it was announced that Stalker 2 would come back to life. With this reboot, they aimed for a publisher to take an interest in the game and inject financial capital for its development, something that eventually happened, as we saw at E3 2021, where we had a gameplay trailer shown during Microsoft’s conference. But then came the worst.

Although a release date was set for April 28, 2022, the Russian invasion of Ukraine caused the studio, which was based in Kyiv, not only to move to the Czech Republic, but many developers decided to remain on Ukrainian soil, either working there or fighting against Russian forces. In this regard, it is known that some developers have already died in the bloody war that is heading into its third year, in addition to suffering numerous attacks from Russian hackers and even a fire in their Prague offices.

Fortunately for the studio, Stalker 2 has turned out well, considering all these issues. Are you ready to enter The Zone?

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