The Stalker 2 release date has been delayed by 7 months

The Stalker 2: Heart of Chernobyl release date had been delayed by over seven months.

Originally scheduled to be released on April 28, 2022, the game will now arrive on December 8.

In a statement, Ukrainian developer GSC Game World said the additional development time would enable it to thoroughly test and polish its biggest game yet.

“Those additional seven months of development are needed to to fulfill our vision and achieve the desired state of the game,” it wrote. “Stalker 2 is the biggest project in the history of GSC, and it requires thorough testing and polishing.

“We are convinced that development should take as long as necessary, especially in the case of such a project.

“This decision is not an easy one, but we are doing the best possible to deliver you a game that can live up to your expectations,” it continued.

“With more information, updates and showcases coming, we have an exciting and important year ahead. Thank you for your patience and understanding.”

The first Stalker 2: Heart of Chernobyl gameplay footage was revealed in June 2021 alongside the game’s initial release date announcement.

The post-apocalyptic shooter is coming first to Xbox Series X/S and PC and will be available on Xbox Game Pass at launch.

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As in previous series entries Stalker: Shadow of Chernobyl, Stalker: Clear Sky and Stalker: Call of Pripyat, Stalker 2 is set within the Zone, an alternate history version of the Chernobyl exclusion zone “filled with mutated creatures, deadly radiation, and a strange, anomalous energy”.

Players will explore its open-world as one of the bounty hunters known as Stalkers, in what GSC Game World PR specialist Zakhar Bocharov has called “an epic, branching story culminating in lots of different endings”.