Stalker 2's been delayed again but the new release date trailer shows that, despite everything, the devs are in good spirits
It's unfortunate that that the game's had to be pushed back a bit further, but hey, there's a funny trailer with a cool digger.
Stalker 2's release has had to be pushed back again, it's now pencilled in to arrive on November 20, with the previously planned September release date having been abandoned in order to give the game's developers "the chance to fix more 'unexpected anomalies' (or simply 'bugs', as you call them)".
If you're out of the loop, GSC Game World's been enduring a uniquely tough development process as it's worked on this sequel to the original cult classic shooter, which came out all the way back in 2007. Initially based in Ukraine, the entire studio moved over to the Czech Republic due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Those issues to navigate and struggle against, on top of the already stressful process of making a video game, will have obviously weighed heavily on the devs, but it's good to see from how this delay was revealed that they're still seemingly in good spirits.
In the new reveal trailer, which came out following a Reddit user having shared what they claimed was an email they'd gotten from GSC about the delay, with the details lining up - at least date-wise - with what the studio's now confirmed, we only get 40 or so seconds of Stalker, but there's some nice humour in there.
As a soldier with a sniper rifle walks near a pretty cool digger, he's told over his radio by a Colonel that "the zone will remain out of bounds until November 20, pending the completion of rthe ward's official affairs". Said Colonel adds: "consider this as me going you time to prepare better", before the soldier responds: "You've gotta be kidding me. Really, again?"
That last couple of words are the title of this trailer, so at least you can see GSC Game World is having some fun wth it, even after all its devs have been though with the war, and even the likes of a fire at its Prague offices.
"Stalker 2 is shaping up to be everything we envisioned, with the launch nearly here, and we are incredibly excited to share more with you," GSC wrote in the video's description, "To give you a taste of what’s coming, we’re thrilled to announce the Stalker 2 Developer Deep Dive video, which will be released on Xbox media channels on August 12.
"This detailed update will include exclusive interviews, lots of new footage, and a full video walkthrough of one of the game quests. We can’t wait for you to see it and get a comprehensive understanding of how the game looks and plays."
So, there you go, something to look forward to while you patiently wait to get your hands on what you've been waiting for.