While technical faults of Stalker 2 Heart of Chornobyl held it back from the kind of acclaim you sometimes see, many commended it for being different to what else was available, perhaps clearing the way to a cult classic status of its own one day. The long-anticipated follow-up to 2007’s Stalker: Shadow of Chernobyl was in development for a long time, delayed due to both internal and real-world issues, before releasing to a reception that makes sense for a dedicated sequel to a cult classic.
For now, however, the developers behind the game, GSC Game World, have released 2025’s roadmap for what players can expect from the game in terms of updates — including one major overhaul.
Stalker 2 Heart of Chornobyl Update Includes Engine Upgrade
The Stalker 2 Heart of Chornobyl update includes and upgraded engine, which promises an improved gameplay experience and a crackdown on performance issues. GSC Game World stated, “our main mission in the near future is upgrading the game to Unreal Engine 5.5.4. This will bring new features and tools to make the Zone an even better place, but more importantly – bringing the latest Unreal Engine 5 optimizations will lead to better stability and performance.”
The shift in engine is the headliner of the roadmap, but it’s also something that might cause the other entries to be delayed, depending on how smooth the transition is. However, the goal remains for the shift to be completed this year.
Other Roadmap Updates
The full list of updates included on the roadmap are as follows:
- Engine update to Unreal Engine 5.5.4 (for optimisation)
- Various night vision devices
- Binoculars
- A-life updates:
- More A-life zone: various technical improvements and updates
- NPC combat updates
- mutants combat & balance updates
- New anomalies
- New missions, from old and new friends
- New weather scenarios
- Master difficulty preset
- Extended day/night cycle
- Stashes loot rework
- Stamina and energy drinks rework
- Immersive display mode
- Player equipment UI update
- Protection stats, finally!
- More UI updates and improvements
- Local save backup restoration
- Further optimisation and “anomalies” fixing
- Zone kit-phase 1 to phase 2
- Audio modding (Wwise)
- Narrative tools
- Create your own stories
- Improved compatibility of various mods that interact with common game systems
- Enhanced blueprints modification support
- Discord holiday event
Stalker 2 Heart of Chornobyl PS5 Release Date
As well as the roadmap announcements, the developers recently announced that it would be coming to PlayStation 5 at the end of 2025. This might mean that if all goes well, the game will debut on this console with all of these upgrades incorporated, making it the definitive version of the game for audiences picking it up for the first time. This can help to expand the already impressive Stalker 2 sales which reached one million within its first month.
