Fans have been waiting a long, long time (the game was originally announced all the way back in 2010), but we finally have a debut trailer for STALKER 2. The trailer doesn’t contain much action, but we do get a tantalizing glimpse at the game’s stark post-apocalyptic world. You can check out the trailer for yourself, below.
Need to know more? Developer GSC Game World has provided a few more details about STALKER 2, including “A-Life 2.0,” which will make for even more complex character and enemy interactions…
The S.T.A.L.K.E.R. franchise was always about the Zone. We see it as a standalone, and hugely important, character of the series. In the world we created, the nuclear disaster at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in 1986 wasn’t the only one to occur. The second explosion hit the reactor in 2006, creating The Zone as we know it. It’s a dangerous place, filled with mutated creatures, deadly radiation, and a strange, anomalous energy. However, it’s not just an isolated place that’s dangerous by itself, but rather a threat to all of mankind. Still, there is no stopping for the explorers.
Bounty hunters delve deep into the Zone, driven by its treasures and mysteries. Some of them are running from their past, others are blinded by money, and some are obsessed with finding the truth behind all the mysteries. These people are known as STALKERSs. You are one of them.
With STALKER 2, we are finally creating the thing we’ve wanted to make since the very beginning. For the first time in the series, the Zone will be yours to explore as a post-apocalyptic open-world — one of the biggest ones to date. This is our most immersive world yet, and we are crafting it with the love and passion this setting deserves. Using our most advanced technology to date, the Zone has never been this gorgeous. And it’s yours to conquer — or to be lost in forever.
Both monsters and factions that inhabit the Zone are constantly interacting with each other. The previous STALKER games introduced A-Life — a living world simulating system. The reimagined version of this system, which we call A-Life 2.0, will control the state of the world and the behavior of characters and mutants, making the Zone ever-changing and truly alive. Countless events and encounters will happen every moment — even if you are not around to witness them with your own eyes.
With STALKER 2, we want every player to have a unique playthrough. It will take much more than just A-Life 2.0 to do that, as you are the author of your story. Putting aside the scale, the decisions you make will cause not only short-term outcomes, but influence the world itself. We are crafting an epic, branching story culminating in lots of different endings. You’ll have to make tough choices regularly — and be brave enough to face the consequences.
GSC Game World has also announced STALKER 2 will launch as an Xbox Series X console exclusive and will be available through Xbox Game Pass from day one. Sounds like Microsoft may be helping GSC finally get this game across the finish line.
STALKER 2 is coming to PC and Xbox Series X. A release date has yet to be specified. What do you think? Excited to go back to Chernobyl?
