Where upcoming Xbox exclusives are concerned, even though it isn’t a first party title, open world survival horror sequel S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl has been high on most anticipated lists for a great many people for a while now. Hopes may have been high in recent days that the shooter would receive a new trailer or update of some sort at the upcoming Xbox Games Showcase later today, but developer GSC Game World has confirmed that won’t be the case.
Over on the game’s Steam forums, a GSC Game World moderator confirmed to users in response to questions about the same that S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 is skipping all showcases in June, with the developer instead intending to provide substantial updates in “the coming months.”
“We usually do not announce or deny our participation in shows, but this one time we’ll make an exception,” the moderator wrote. “S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 will miss the June online conferences preferring to make important announcements in the upcoming months. Our plan is to give progressive updates on what we’re planning.”
GSC Game World has faced a number of development issues with S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 behind-the-scenes. After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the studio was forced to pause production, before eventually relocating part of its team to Prague to resume development last year. Meanwhile, earlier this year, the developer confirmed that it had been “enduring cyberattacks” by groups of players in Russia for over year.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl is in development for Xbox Series X/S and PC. Last year, GSC Game World said the game was still targeting 2023 launch, though there have been no updates on a release date since then.