Summary
Gamers eager to take advantage of now being able to pre-loadSTALKER 2on Xbox will need to make sure they have a lot of space available on their devices. A first-person horror shooter, the Ukranian-developedSTALKER 2has gone through a number of delays over the past several years, but it seems its latest November 20 release date will finally be the one that sticks.
Earlier this year,STALKERdeveloper GSC Game Worldported over the original trilogy of the late 2000s to Xbox as a bundle namedSTALKER: Legends of the Zone,which includedShadow of Chernobyl,Clear Sky, andCall of Pripyat.This move gave longtime fans of the series an enhanced walk down memory lane in the final months leading up toSTALKER 2, but also served as an avenue for new fans to jump into the horror FPS franchise for the first time and become acquainted with the series' dark and gritty horror atmosphere.
After going gold just recently,STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobylhas become available to pre-load on Xbox with over a week to go until itsday one Game Pass releaseon November 20. Users don’t even need Game Pass to do so, asSTALKER 2can be queued up for pre-load via the Xbox mobile app. It would seem that, with a size of nearly 150 GB, Xbox gamers looking to get a head start on the install will need to clear the way forSTALKER 2on their storage devices. However, Xbox Cloud Gaming will serve as an alternative for those who can’t make the space.
Such a massive 150 GB footprint putsSTALKER 2in the realm of games likeCall of Duty: Black Ops 6,Forza Motorsport, Baldur’s Gate 3,andStar Wars Jedi: Survivor. Such a huge size does make sense when consideringSTALKER 2,which wasdeveloped using Unreal Engine 5, could be among the best-looking games of the year in terms of visual fidelity. GSC Game World also confirmed that the game will be able to run at 60 FPS on Xbox Series X, which likely also contributed to the game’s massive file size.
STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobylis coming to Xbox Series X, S, and PC on November 20, and will also be available on Xbox Game Pass on day one. The third-party Xbox console exclusive won’t be the only huge game gracing Game Pass this holiday season, asMicrosoft Flight Simulator 2024drops a day earlier, and MachineGames' highly anticipatedIndiana Jones and the Great Circleis due to arrive on December 9.
STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl
Chornobyl Exclusion Zone has changed dramatically after the second massive explosion in year 2006. Violent mutants, deadly anomalies, 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 WORLDTake 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 COMBINATIONSMeet 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.
