Summary
- STALKER 2 sells over a million copies in under 48 hours, reaching top sellers list on Steam and drawing in Game Pass players.
- Despite success, the launch faced bugs and glitches; GSC Game World commits to post-launch updates and fixes.
- STALKER 2 has a tumultuous development history plagued with delays, financial crisis, and war, but has culminated in huge sales.
GSC Game World's STALKER 2 has sold over a million copies in less than 48 hours, marking a significant milestone for the open-world shooter. Originally announced back in 2010, STALKER 2 has been 14 years in the making, with a history marked by incredible difficulties that the team had to overcome.
It's been a very long road for the Ukrainian developer GSC Game World, facing numerous issues during STALKER 2's long development cycle. In addition to a financial crisis back in 2012, STALKER 2 was hit with multiple delays for various reasons, including a full studio relocation due to the outbreak of war between Russia and Ukraine. However, the lengthy and difficult development cycle appears to have been worth it as GSC Game World shared exciting news with fans.
STALKER 2 Gets Gigantic Update Right Before Launch
Ahead of its release, STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl receives its first patch, surprising some early adopters by its sheer size.
In a post on its official social media account, GSC Game World announced that over 1 million copies of STALKER 2 have been sold in less than 48 hours after launch and went on to tease that this is only the start of things to come. In addition, STALKER 2's addition to Xbox Game Pass has apparently worked well as the studio revealed that many more players have joined through the subscription service as well.
STALKER 2 Reaches Over a Million Copies Sold
The official sales announcement followed on the heels of another congratulatory post from GSC Game World, thanking fans at launch for very high engagement on Steam. STALKER 2 managed to pull in over 100,000 concurrent players at launch, vaulting it up to the top of Steam's Top Sellers list just hours after it launched. While Xbox numbers aren't known, this number could be even higher thanks to the game's inclusion on Game Pass.
However, for all of the success that the game has seen, it hasn't been a perfect launch. Players have run into plenty of bugs, glitches, and other issues, though GSC Game World is apparently aware of these problems, as the developer has confirmed to be working on post-launch updates for STALKER 2. The studio reiterated its commitment to the title, while also acknowledging that the games size means it has some rough edges to it, which the team will be working on fixing.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 75 /100 Critics Rec: 64%
- Released
- November 20, 2024
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, Use of Alcohol and Tobacco
- Developer(s)
- GSC Game World
- Publisher(s)
- GSC Game World
WHERE TO PLAY
Chornobyl Exclusion Zone has changed dramatically after the second massive explosion in the year 2006. Violent mutants, deadly anomalies, and warring factions have made the Zone a very tough place to survive.
Nevertheless, artifacts of unbelievable value attracted many people called S.T.A.L.K.E.R.s, who entered the Zone for their own risk, striving to make a fortune out of it or even to find the Truth concealed in the Heart of Chornobyl.
EPIC NONLINEAR STORY IN SEAMLESS OPEN WORLD
Take over a role of the lone stalker and explore photorealistic seamless open world in a 64-km² radioactive zone with a variety of environments that reveal post-apocalyptic atmosphere from different angles. Make your way through the Zone to define your destiny as you choose your paths within highly branching epic story.
VARIETY OF ENEMIES AND HUNDREDS OF WEAPON COMBINATIONS
Meet members of different factions deciding who of them worth your friendship and who deserve a bullet. Engage intense gunfights with a variety of enemies that follow different tactics trying to outsmart you. Choose your preferable firearms from 30+ types of weapons with numerous modifications that allow creating hundreds of distinctive lethal combinations.
LEGENDARY MUTANTS WITH DIFFERENT BEHAVIOUR MODELS
Prepare to encounter horrifying mutated creatures that will try to slaughter you following different behaviour model. Each mutant may appear in different subtypes which makes their behaviour less predictible. Truly extreme danger represent regions with lairs with numerous mutants hunting in large groups.
ARTIFACTS OF INCREDIBLE VALUE AND UNFORGIVING ANOMALIES
The most valuable artifacts and secrets of the Zone are hidden in the most dangerous places. Beware of the hazardous anomalies and unique devastating arch-anomalies as you hunt for highly valuable artifacts scattered around the Zone. Will you dare to unveil the mysteries of the Zone that took lives of many others before you?
GOOD HUNTING, STALKER!
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 5
- Franchise
- S.T.A.L.K.E.R.
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC
- Genre(s)
- First-Person Shooter, Open-World, Post-Apocalyptic, Survival
