S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 delayed again, but we finally have an Xbox Series X|S release date

S.T.AL.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl has sadly been delayed again, but at least we have a firm date this time. Developer GSC Game World has announced that the long-awaited post-apocalyptic game will launch on Xbox Series X|S, PC, and Xbox Game Pass on September 5.

After a number of delays, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 was given an “early 2024” release date back in August 2023 when the game’s preorder pages when live. However, the team needs additional time to polish it, which must be a difficult thing to achieve with the Russian war on Ukraine.

But it looks like this could be the last time we see a delay, as the accompanying video says that it’s the “final release date announcement.”

While I could fill this space with GSC Game Worlds reasoning behind the delay in my own words, it’s probably best to let the team tell you for themselves: “While there is absolutely no way to make another delay sound less dim,” GSC Game World said in a press release. “We decided to be clear about our reasons to postpone the game for the sake of yet another wave of polishing.”

According to the team, they travelled around the world with a demo build of the game, starting with its appearance at last year’s Gamescom, and gave the team a chance to hear feedback from the players. Two “key points” were raised from the demo sessions:

“The first one was: it absolutely felt and played like a S.T.A.L.K.E.R. game, which basically summed up both the key intention and the main inspiration for the project from the very beginning, GSC Game World said. “The second one was: on the technical side of things, the game apparently needed more time in the oven.

“Throughout the frankly challenging development process, time was of the team’s main essence. Seeing the scope of polishing and understanding the limits of the players’ patience, GSC was absolutely dedicated to releasing the game in Q1 2024. That, however, doesn’t change the fact that at the beginning of this year, certain technical imperfections still hold S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 below the expected standards for the final experience the fans are waiting for.

“This extended journey to the release will be supported with much more content from the game to be shared later this year.”

While we wait just a little bit longer to play S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2, there are many games coming to Game Pass to keep us busy. Take a look at our list to find out if there is anything you’ll be looking forward to.