STALKER 2 Finally Hit PS5 and It Took 14 Years and a War to Get Here

STALKER 2 came out on PS5 on November 20th. Exactly one year after it launched on Xbox and PC. And I keep thinking about how insane the journey to get here actually was.

This game was in development for 14 years. Fourteen. GSC Game World announced it back in 2010 or something. It got cancelled. Then uncancelled. Then they had to switch engines. Then Russia invaded Ukraine where the studio is based and they had to relocate staff during an actual war while still trying to make a video game.

And they did it. They shipped the game. And now PlayStation players finally get to experience it.

The PS5 version has all the stuff youd expect. Adaptive triggers. Haptic feedback. Gyro aiming. Tempest 3D audio. PS5 Pro gets upgraded reflections and volumetric fog and shadow quality. Its the most polished version of the game now after a year of patches on other platforms.

The game itself is divisive honestly. Reviews were mixed at launch. Lots of bugs. Janky in that very specific Eastern European way that STALKER games have always been. But if youre into hardcore survival shooters with oppressive atmosphere and genuine tension theres really nothing else like it. The Zone is one of the most memorable video game settings ever made and this is the biggest version of it yet.

Six million players on PC and Xbox already. One million copies sold in the first 48 hours of the original launch. For a game from a Ukrainian studio during wartime thats genuinely remarkable. Supporting GSC feels like more than just buying a video game at this point.

Fair warning though – the game is 153 GB. One hundred and fifty three. Clear some hard drive space before you start that download. Or just do what I did and delete games you havent touched in months while pretending youll definitely get back to them eventually.

Good hunting stalker. The Zone awaits.