Stalker 2 refunds reportedly being issued due to ‘release date postponement’

Microsoft has reportedly started refunding players who pre-ordered Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl because the game’s release window is now uncertain.

According to XGP, Xbox been reimbursing pre-order customers and explaining that the decision to do so is because the game’s release has been postponed to an “unconfirmed date in the future”.

The company also appears to have removed the ability to place new Stalker 2 pre-orders via the Microsoft Store.

VGC has contacted Microsoft for comment on this report.

If these claims are accurate, the news isn’t entirely surprising given the circumstances surrounding Stalker 2’s development.

The game is being developed by Ukrainian studio GSC Game World. The company, which was based in Kiev prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, has since partially relocated to the Czech Republic.

Not all of its staff have been able to leave Ukraine, however, with a number of developers continuing to work on the game from the war-torn country, where their lives have been turned upside down.

Further reading

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Stalker 2 gets first gameplay trailer and April 2022 release for Xbox Series X/S and PC

The title is coming to Xbox Game Pass on day one

Other GSC Game World staff have joined volunteering efforts in Ukraine or the country’s armed forces, including several employees featured in a development diary released in June, which showed how the war has impacted the team and its work.

Originally planned for release this April, the game has already been delayed on a couple of occasions. As of June, it was scheduled for release in 2023, although that now appears uncertain.