STALKER 2 Announced From Original Devs, But Won’t Come Anytime Soon
It appears that a full sequel in the STALKER franchise is in the works as confirmed by series developer GSC Game World. A website cropped up (http://stalker2.com) and the official GSC Game World website states that the game is currently in the works. The game’s site simply has a dark concrete background with “S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2” and “2.0.2.1.” painted into it, likely indicating that this game won’t be around until another three years.
The STALKER 2 title has been on a sort of rollercoaster ride; in August 2010, GSC announced the game with a brand new engine and plans to launch in 2012. Despite studio struggles and facing an uncertain future, GSC said in December 2011 that it was going to continue development. However, the project was cancelled in April 2012. GSC continued to be fairly quiet, putting out the real-time strategy game Cossacks 3 in 2016, but it seems that STALKER 2 is back from the dead with this announcement.
Ukranian developer GSC captured a unique feeling of danger, horror, and survival in nuclear disaster zones with its three releases in the STALKER game franchise. These first-person shooters had their share of technical issues, but challenged players to put more thought into approaching combat and moving around its open world. STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl was the first entry in 2007, and it was followed by a prequel subtitled Clear Sky in 2008 and a follow-up subtitled Call of Pripyat in 2010.
STALKER is loosely based on the Russian novel Roadside Picnic and movie Stalker (1979), and is set in alternate reality where a second nuclear disaster took place in Chernobyl. Its story takes a few supernatural turns as you uncover the mysteries of the Nuclear Exclusion Zone alongside other stalkers, who are illegal hunters and scavengers in “The Zone.” We consider STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl one of the best games of 2007, which you can read more about in our list of great games that turned 10 last year.