STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl Gets A Visual Update, New Gameplay Footage Allegedly Coming Soon

GSC Game World’s upcoming first-person shooter survival horror game, STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl, has received a visual update, and new gameplay footage is rumored to be revealed sometime soon.

Reddit user jacob1342 discovered a new batch of screenshots for STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl on the Epic Games Store, which showed that the game has received a minor visual update. The aforementioned update primarily comes in the form of a UI overhaul, but the development team also appears to have made some slight changes to the game’s color correction, resulting in a slightly more vibrant look.

STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl Visual Update Screenshot Comparison

A screenshot comparison (via) between the new (top) and earlier (bottom) build of STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl can be seen below.

Additionally, YouTuber Антишнапс shared that he has heard new gameplay footage for STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl will be revealed sometime very soon.

STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl is set to release on Microsoft Windows and the Xbox Series X/S platforms. It marks the fourth installment in the STALKER series, as well as the series’ debut on consoles. Notably, it also breaks a 13-year hiatus in the series, as the last release, Call of Pripyat, was back in 2009. The game was originally delayed by the developer to December, 2022. It appears that it will finally see the light of day an additional year after the intended release date.

Initially revealed in the aftermath of Call of Pripyat’s launch, the game was initially slated for a 2012 release. Those plans were shelved, however, and the game was officially canceled in the same year it was meant to launch. Several years later, STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl made a resurgence in 2018. Its development was re-initiated, this time powered by Unreal Engine 5. As mentioned earlier, the game was originally slated to hit store shelves on December 8, 2022. However, due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, development was temporarily halted. The development team later communicated through their official Discord server that work on STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl was ongoing, and the game is targeting a release in 2023. It looks like we finally have a concrete release date.