Stalker 2's release date may have been leaked

Stalker sequel Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl will release in December, according to distributor Plaion.

Whilst not formally confirmed by developer GSC Game World, the website for Plaion - the company formerly known as Koch Media - has listed the highly-anticipated shooter sequel as releasing on December 1, 2023.

So far, so what, right? Fair enough – it's hardly concrete evidence. But when you factor in that other games on Plaion's sites without a release date have been given placeholder dates for December 31, 2023, rather than December 1, some fans hope that December 1 is the real deal.

Of course, without formal word from GSC all we can do is take this rumor with a hefty bucket of salt, but for now, it's keeping the hope alive for fans who had hoped to be stalking by the end of the year. Watch this space, I guess – Gamescom is coming our way soon, so (hopefully) we may find out more then. 

The devs of the upcoming first-person apocalyptic shooter, Stalker 2: Heart of Chernobyl, GSC Game World recently revealed that Russian hackers leaked test builds and other stolen material into the public domain.

After being hacked for "almost a year and a half", GSC Game World stated on Twitter that Russian hackers have been able to "access and compromise some of [its] leaked information intended for internal testing".

GSC Game World appealed to fans not to "look at or share and leaked materials from the game" in case it "ruin[ed] your experience of exploring the Zone by yourself".

The team revealed that the hackers had taken advantage of a vulnerability, and whilst frustrating, it at least meant GSC could identify where the issue was and address it before its release… be that December or otherwise.

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Stalker 2 remains one of the most anticipated upcoming games of 2023 and could yet be one of the best FPS games of the year.