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[Draugoth]

After multiple delays, development on Stalker 2 appears to be wrapping up

Xbox boss Phil Spencer has opened Xbox's Gamescom booth with a short address where he mentions some of the games playable at the event, among them Stalker 2, which he says is currently having the final touches added.

"One that's close to my heart is [the] Stalker 2 team, and all that they've been dealing with,"

Spencer says.

"They have a playable game on the floor, which is just fantastic. I got to play yesterday. The game looks great, and they're literally downloading a build as I'm sitting there, trying to put the last touches on their game. But what an amazing story."

 

[Trekinspace88]

The game looks great hopefully MS's timed Exclusivity isn't for too long and the PS release isn't too far behind.

 

[FoxMcChief]

Ok, so when is it releasing. And don't say 2023. This year can't take any more great games.

 

[Bry0]

Hopefully tomorrow we get a date. They've been adamant about 2023 previously

 

[Connificent]

Good guy Phil

 

[FoxMcChief]

Good guy Phil

Best guy Phil.

 

[Connificent]

Best guy Phil.

Best gay?

 

[S0ULZB0URNE]

Lets go.

 

[FoxMcChief]

Best gay?

lol

Is that what you saw in your mind? What, are you some reeeeee mole!?

j/k

 

[Vox Machina]

The game looks great hopefully MS's timed Exclusivity isn't for too long and the PS release isn't too far behind.

3 months. IIRC. Very excited for this one.

 

[Markio128]

I'm not hyped for the game but I'm pleased for the devs.

 

[Kupfer]

3 months. IIRC. Very excited for this one.

This. At least according to some internal paper.

 

[R6Rider]

I've had the collector's edition pre-ordered on Amazon for what seems like two years now.

 

[Vox Machina]

I wonder if there will be any Game Pass upgrade we can get. I wouldn't mind tossing these devs a couple extra bones considering everything they've had to go through.

 

[FoxMcChief]

I wonder if there will be any Game Pass upgrade we can get. I wouldn't mind tossing these devs a couple extra bones considering everything they've had to go through.

I might buy the game. The dev can use our support.

 

[Vox Machina]

I might buy the game. The dev can use our support.

Yep, if there's no upgrade with DLC or something that's what I'll do as well.

 

[Bry0]

Yep, if there's no upgrade with DLC or something that's what I'll do as well.

I bought the ultimate edition because it looks like they are planning 2 dlc packs. No clue when those might actually launch though.

 

[adamsapple]

I am not expecting this to be a surprise 2023 release.

God speed to the developers.

 

[FoxMcChief]

I am not expecting this to be a surprise 2023 release.

God speed to the developers.

Me either. I'm guessing Spring 2024.

 

[RadioactiveLobster]

Per the Press Kit Fact Sheet (that was just recently added) on the Official STALKER 2 website, it's Q1 2024.

That said, it still says "Available 2023" at the top of the Official Site so...

 

[Bry0]

Per the Press Kit Fact Sheet (that was just recently added) on the Official STALKER 2 website, it's Q1 2024.

That said, it still says "Available 2023" at the top of the Official Site so...

Q1 2024 sounds about right. I'm happy to wait since this year is swamped. Stalker 2 deserves some space to shine anyway.

 

[adamsapple]

Per the Press Kit Fact Sheet (that was just recently added) on the Official STALKER 2 website, it's Q1 2024.

That said, it still says "Available 2023" at the top of the Official Site so...

Good find. Q1 2024 seems more appropriate.

 

[RagnarokIV]

This is gonna be THE game. Can. Not. Wait.

 

[adamsapple]

STALKER 2: Going Hands-on With the First Ever Playable Demo - Xbox Wire

STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl makes a hell of a first impression – the opening moments see your player-character, Skif sprawled across the floor of a rad-blasted forest, looking down, and seeing a mutant dog chewing on their leg. Cue a panic, a jammed gun, and the dog being fortuitously picked...

news.xbox.com

The most surprising element for a showfloor demo is the freedom you're offered. Developer GSC Game World makes clear that this is a tiny slice of an enormous game, and still work-in-progress, but barring a short scene-setting conversation with a mysterious stranger – who directs us to speak to some locals – the demo makes no demands of you to do anything other than explore. It's a clear marker of the game as a whole, a world that offers you choices from the beginning, and the opportunities to make them how you'd like.

Along the way, GSC Game World makes clear the power of Unreal Engine 5, imbuing beauty to a distinctly nasty world – The Zone (the name given to this alternative Earth's post-nuclear Chornobyl Exclusion Zone) is packed with detail: abandoned buildings cut through with low, wintry light; threadbare forests broken up by oily, shimmering bubbles of warped reality; and pockets of quiet humanity being scratched out in the wilderness.