S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl - Everything you need to know!

Prepare to go back to Chornobyl when STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl launches on November 20th. Take a look at our recap guide while you wait to get up to speed with this open world sequel!

What is S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl?

STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl is an open world sequel to the 2007 title STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl created once again by the talented team at GSC Game World. It's been a long road for the studio, with several setbacks and release date changes, but the end of the road is finally in sight with the release set for November 20th 2024!

Players will be able to explore a large open world (64-km²) within the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone, an area that was devastated after explosions in 2006 left it uninhabitable. Of course the wastelands are a dangerous place and you can expect to find mutated creatures within that want to take a piece of your flesh. Thankfully you have access to over 30+ weapons at your disposal, each of which can be modified with various mods to suit the job at hand. Not only will you need to keep on your toes for mutants, but there's also several factions wanting to claim the territory for themselves.

STALKER 2 has a dynamic day and night cycle, with breathtaking visuals and weather bringing the world of Chornobyl to life thanks to the power of Unreal Engine 5. Survive at all costs by managing hunger, sleep, blood loss and radiation effects. Not only will you have to deal with mutants, bandits and surviving, but you may even come across some hazardous anomalies that beg you to uncover and discover their mysteries.

In addition to the branching single player campaign, there's also going to be multiplayer added to the game in a future post-release update that'll be free for everyone.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl Trailer Recap Playlist

Whether you've been following the game of the years, or only discovering STALKER 2 for the first time today we've put together a handy playlist that will give prepare you for your journey into the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone. Take a look below to get up to speed on all things STALKER 2:

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl - PC system requirements

Those looking to take on the wastelands of STALKER 2 will need to make sure their system is up to the task of running the game, and if you want to get the best experience you'll want to be make sure you have a fairly beefy machine as the High Requirements (Recommended 1440p @ 60 FPS) require an Intel Core i7-11700 or AMD Ryzen 7 5800X coupled with Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti / RTX 4070 or AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT and 32 gigs of RAM. If you're still on a bit of an aging machine there's still some good news as the lowest requimrenets (1080p @ 30 FPS) require an Intel Core i7-7700K or AMD Ryzen 5 1600X with a Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 6GB, AMD Radeon RX 580 8GB, or Intel Arc A750, and only 16 gigs of RAM. No matter which settings you run, you will need at least 160 gigs of SSD space.

Before you jump into the game, as always we'd recommend making sure you have the latest drivers for your Graphics Card to ensure the smoothest experience at release - AMD / Nvidia.

Low PC Requirements (1080p @ 30 FPS):

• CPU: Intel Core i7-7700K or AMD Ryzen 5 1600X
• GPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 6GB, AMD Radeon RX 580 8GB, or Intel Arc A750
• RAM: 16GB
• Storage: 160GB SSD

Medium PC Requirements (1080p @ 60 FPS):

• CPU: Intel Core i7-9700K or AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
• GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 Super / RTX 4060 or AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT
• RAM: 16GB
• Storage: 160GB SSD

High PC Requirements (1440p @ 60 FPS):

• CPU: Intel Core i7-11700 or AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
• GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti / RTX 4070 or AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT
• RAM: 32GB
• Storage: 160GB SSD

Epic PC Requirements (4K @ 60+ FPS):

• CPU: Intel Core i7-13700KF or AMD Ryzen 7 7700X
• GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 or AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX
• RAM: 32GB
• Storage: 160GB SSD

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl PC pre-order bonus

If you pre-order any version of STALKER 2 before the release, you'll also get the Early Bird Pack, which contains the following in-game items:

• Vintar weapon “Veteran”: “I'll make it, whatever it takes. I'll buy my own house... near the river, at the forest edge. No more radiation, no more beasts, no more freaking bastards.”
• Sunrise suit “Tourist”: The former owner of this suit had an excellent understanding of weight distribution and echeloning of equipment. Redesigned pockets, a corset that relieves the back, additional pouches and a travel backpack allow you to carry more weight, which is very handy during long raids into the Zone.
• Unique “Stalker” Backpack: Exclusive backpack model with an Early Bird patch.
• Additional campfire content: Guitar tunes & additional stories

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl PC launch dates

STALKER 2 launches on November 20th at 8am PT / 4pm GMT / 5pm CET, however there's no planned preload for the game so you'll have to start the download when the game launches on Steam.

Launch Time: November 20th at 8am PT / 4pm GMT / 5pm CET
Preload on Steam: No

Is S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl compatible with the Steam Deck?

Currently it's unclear whether or not the game sequel will function on the Steam Deck, though based on the requirements for the PC Version it's unlikely it would run well on the Deck. As such it's recommended to play on a PC if you want the best experience for the game.

Problems with S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl? Help is on the way!

We are happy to help if you have technical problems with the PC version of STALKER 2 or general questions about purchasing and activating the game. We have set up a first aid kit for this purpose. You can also contact our helpful support team at [email protected].