Ukrainian developer GSC Game World has just revealed the exciting roadmap for STALKER 2’s 2025 updates. The highlight? The highly anticipated upgrade to Unreal Engine 5.4 (or is it 5.5.4?), which promises major performance enhancements.
But that’s not all – there’s also a lot more to look forward to in this post-apocalyptic adventure.
The game will feature a wide variety of new content, including fresh missions, intriguing anomalies, and key upgrades to the A-Life system. Players can expect improved NPC behavior, better combat mechanics, and mutant balancing updates. One particularly cool addition is the new night vision tech, including binoculars, which should make the game even more immersive at night. Plus, you can look forward to new weather scenarios and a more detailed day/night cycle that will make the Zone feel even more dynamic.
Speaking of improvements, the game’s UI is getting a much-needed overhaul. A new player equipment UI will streamline your gear management, and the immersive display mode will further enhance the atmosphere of the game. Meanwhile, gameplay mechanics like stamina and energy drinks will be revamped to make surviving in the Zone a bit more challenging.
The update also brings long-awaited technical improvements, including the much-needed restoration of local save backups, and bug fixes for anomalies. But that’s not all – the game’s modding tools will get a major upgrade, making it easier for the community to tweak and customize the game with new mods.
In addition to these game improvements, there’s also a big boost to the Zone Kit. Phase 1 to Phase 2 will introduce audio modding with Wwise, narrative tools, better mod compatibility, and enhanced Blueprints modification support. The developers are also working on optimizations to ensure the game runs even better across all platforms.
For fans waiting for a console release, STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl will eventually be coming to PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 5 Pro. While no release date has been set, we could get more details at Gamescom 2025, where the game will be playable. However, multiplayer mode and DLCs appear to be missing from the roadmap, so fans hoping for those may have to wait a little longer.
It’s also worth noting that GSC Game World has warned that all these updates could face delays due to ‘Zone instability’ – a tongue-in-cheek reference to the unpredictability of game development. As we know, even the best-laid plans can be affected by the chaos of the Zone. Fingers crossed that these updates hit as scheduled!