S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl is a 2024 first‑person shooter with survival horror set in the dangerous Chernobyl Exclusion Zone around the nuclear plant. Made by GSC Game World, it’s the fourth main game in the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series and the first new entry in 15 years. It released on Windows and Xbox Series X/S on November 20, 2024, with a PlayStation 5 version arriving on November 20, 2025. The game also launched on Xbox Game Pass from day one.
In the Zone, players must manage basic needs like hunger and sleep, carry items within a weight limit, and keep weapons and armor in good shape. They use a PDA to read maps, track tasks, and read notes. The world contains dangerous anomalies that can hurt or kill you, and players can find artifacts that can help or hurt. Traders, technicians, and medics in stalker camps offer services, and you can rest in safe areas or store items in crates.
The story follows Yevhen “Skif” Martynenko, a Ukrainian Marine who enters the Zone after an explosion destroys his apartment. He carries a device called the Scanner to study local anomalies and recharge artifacts. As he searches for the Scanner and answers, he encounters various factions and factions’ leaders, including Ward, Spark, Noontide, and others linked to the Zone’s strange powers. The plot twists lead toward the mysterious Wishgranter and a central, powerful C-Consciousness, with four possible endings depending on the choices players make.
Development has been long and turbulent. The game was first announced in 2010 for a 2012 release, but was canceled and later revived multiple times. It switched to Unreal Engine 5 and faced delays due to the war in Ukraine. The title finally released in 2024, with a PS5 version following in 2025. It received mixed reviews—praising atmosphere and open-world ideas but critiquing bugs and technical issues at launch. Despite the rough start, it sold about 1 million copies in 48 hours and surpassed 6 million players by March 2025. In Russia, the developer was later labeled an undesirable organization.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 19:05 (CET).