Celebrating the PS5 release of open-world atmospheric shooter S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl, developer GSC Game World has taken to social media to thank Microsoft’s Xbox team for its support as well. In its post, the developer noted that Xbox showed “heartfelt care and amazing professionalism” towards the project, and that the company’s support was felt “even in the darkest moments”.
“This one started with a single email and grew into one of the most glowing partnerships we’ve ever had,” wrote GSC Game World on social media. “A match happened that ultimately made millions of players happy.”
“We’ve said this many times, but we are genuinely grateful to the Xbox team for all the collaboration, incredible showcases, heartfelt care, and amazing professionalism. Your hand of support could always be felt, even in the darkest moments. Together, we gave players an unforgettable experience. We are sincerely proud of what we’ve achieved together. This road without you would have been, at the very least, completely different.”
The developer went on to note that, while S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl might be leaving the Game Pass service, the friendship between it and Xbox “will only continue.” This also means that the studio might get further support from Xbox when it comes to making more content for the game, including potential future story DLCs, new stories, and new experiences.
“S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl is leaving Game Pass, but our shared journey and friendship will only continue,” wrote the studio. “There’s a lot ahead in our universe, which now includes our new stalkers who discovered the Zone over the year. The world of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. awaits new stories and experiences, story DLCs, and many surprises that we’re already preparing.”
Earlier this week, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl got a major new update on PC and Xbox Series X/S which introduced the new Master Difficulty mode to the game. The new difficulty option can only be picked when starting a fresh playthrough of the campaign. Along with this, the update also brought with it Expedition Mode, which adds stricter rules for when you can save your progress – only when exiting.
Other features of the update include changes to how stamina and sprinting work, as well as a new Immersive Mode – a quick way to hide the in-game HUD to grab nice-looking screenshots.
While S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl has been available across PC and Xbox Series X/S since the title first came out in November 2024. While the PS5 version – out later today – will likely bring an even larger number of players to the open-world survival shooter, for those of you that are still curious about the new console release, check out the trailer showcasing gameplay. Also check out an earlier trailer that revealed some of the PS5 and PS5 Pro features that are being used by the game.
In the meantime, check out our review of the PS5 release of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl. For a good idea of how it stacks up against the PC and Xbox Series X versions of the game, check out our graphics analysis.
