STALKER 2 aiming to arrive early 2023, according to Xbox showcase

It's no news that STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl has had a rocky development process, and for GSC Game World, this is by no fault of its own. Based in Kyiv, Ukraine's capital city, GSC Game World unfortunately was forced to halt development on the game back in March, once the Russian invasion in the country was well underway.

Just three weeks ago, it was reported that GSC Game World had relocated to Prague (via Eurogamer), and development on the game continues.

Previously, the game had been delayed to December of 2022, and in light of the invasion, development was understandably shifted to the sidelines. News of STALKER 2's second delay comes from the Xbox & Bethesda showcase last night (June 12), in which an Xbox graphic detailing upcoming releases for the next 12 months showed STALKER 2 within its roster.

Showing off games arriving to Xbox in the latter half of 2022, and first half of 2023, STALKER 2 is grouped in with the abundance of titles we can expect to see, and play, in early 2023. The title will be exclusive to Xbox and PC, and on Xbox Game Pass from day one, with the expectation that it'll likely come to other platforms following release.

Fans haven't seen a new STALKER title since Call of Pripyat in 2009, so levels of anticipation for STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl are incredibly high, regardless of the unfortunate and unavoidable delays.

In addition, you might've noticed a slight amendment to the title of the upcoming game. Previously known as 'Heart of Chernobyl', the Russian spelling of the power plant, GSC Game World has changed to 'Heart of Chornobyl', favouring the Ukrainian spelling.

With any luck, we should hopefully be seeing more of STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl in 2023, and we can't wait to see what GSC Game World has come up with for this instalment.