STALKER 2 Hits Major Milestone Hours after Launch

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STALKER 2 Hits Major Milestone Hours after Launch

Key Takeaways

  • STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl reached 100K+ concurrent Steam players quickly post-launch.
  • The game faced delays before finally releasing on November 20, 2024, after a 15-year hiatus.
  • Despite positive reviews, players reported technical issues in the PC version, but developers promised frequent fixes.

As a hardcore fan who’s been waiting 15 years for this moment, STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl has finally graced our screens, and boy was it worth the wait! With over 100K concurrent players on Steam within hours of launch, it’s clear that the gaming community is as eager to explore the desolate lands of the Exclusion Zone as I am.

100,000 players simultaneously experienced “STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl” on Steam shortly after its debut. This much-awaited follow-up to the 2009 release, “STALKER: Call of Pripyat,” marks the first game in the series in 15 years.

As a devoted fan, I’ve been eagerly awaiting the release of STALKER 2 since its initial announcement in 2010. However, this game has had quite a bumpy ride to the finish line. The survival horror title was abruptly canceled in 2012, just as it seemed ready to hit the shelves, due to financial difficulties faced by developer GSC Game World. Fast forward to 2018, and the unexpected announcement of STALKER 2’s resurgence came as a breath of fresh air, with an initial release date set for 2021. But, alas, that date was later moved to 2022. After enduring a couple more delays, I finally got my hands on the game on November 20, 2024, available on both PC and Xbox Series X/S. It’s been a long, patient wait for STALKER fans like me, but it was worth it!

Freshly debuted, STALKER 2 has been performing quite favorably thus far. On OpenCritic, it boasts an average critic rating of 77. Steam users have been especially positive, granting the shooter game a “Very Positive” status based on over 10,000 player reviews. As confirmed via its official Twitter account, STALKER 2 saw massive engagement on its launch day, reaching a peak of 113,587 concurrent players within six hours of release. Additionally, at the moment of writing, it tops Steam’s Top Sellers list, outranking well-established AAA titles such as Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and others.

STALKER 2 Debuts Well but Technical Issues Still Linger

Despite receiving a positive reception for STALKER 2, several players have been encountering technical issues, particularly on the PC version. On STALKER‘s Twitter, users have shared their experiences with these problems, which include game crashes at specific points and controller-related difficulties during gameplay. Interestingly, these issues were predicted by GSC Game World, who warned fans of potential “rough edges” in the game due to its massive scale – a size they acknowledged was unprecedented for their studio.

Fortunately, though they anticipated some issues with STALKER 2, the developers have promised to release frequent and precise hot fixes immediately after launch, gradually moving towards larger updates. In a letter from GSC Game World, they also mentioned that they would share a roadmap for some free in-game content in December as they work on their ambitious plans for the STALKER universe. Needless to say, it will be intriguing to observe how this Phil Spencer-supported game evolves over the next few months.

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2024-11-21 16:23