S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 Developers Give Update on Game's Development

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 developer GSC Game World shared an update on the status of the upcoming game this week to show off some new screenshots and keep the community up to speed on how development is progressing. A gameplay preview shared towards the end of last year was presented again to show around a minute of in-engine footage as well. The game still doesn't have a release date at this time, but GSC Game World said things are "progressing smoothly" which suggests it's still planned for a 2021 release.

The gameplay preview found below was shared by Xbox on Friday after it was first released on December 31 by the official GSC Game World channel on YouTube. In its insights into the clip below and what's to come in the future, GSC Game World confirmed that viewers are seeing a new protagonist named "Skif."

"You're seeing this world through the eyes of a stalker named Skif— remember the codename, you will hear it a lot," GSC Game World said. "Following the steps of its predecessors, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 introduces a completely new main protagonist. His actions will shape the new grand chapter in the history of the Zone."

After some commentary that walked viewers through what's seen in the gameplay preview, GSC Game World offered another update on the development of the game. Unlike many of the other development updates we've seen other studios forced to give in recent months, this one thankfully carries no news of a delay or anything of that nature and instead said that things were going well. Work is also being done on the newer Xbox Series X and Series S consoles, too, to have the game play better on those platforms.

"Finally, we would like to finish this update with a development status," GSC Game World said. "We're progressing smoothly, including Xbox Series X/S versions as well. The aim is to deliver the product of the highest quality possible on every platform it's announced for. With fast SSD, RTX support (both Series X and S) and 4K-resolution (Series X), we're pleased to see how S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 is shaping up to be the ultimate experience we've initially promised."

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 does not yet have a release date but is scheduled to release for the Xbox and PC platforms some time this year.