Stalker 2's engine upgrade and first story expansion are due out in August

The week I spent in Chornobyl in Stalker 2's pre-release review period is a demented blur in my memory at this point. I remember: gunfire randomly muting itself, multiple main quests that failed to progress until I ran about two kilometres away from them, bloodsuckers that required approximately 46,000 rounds to kill, and enemy corpses becoming nightmarish, distended and levitating things.

Despite it all, I loved it. Stalker 2 had the bones of something beautiful, just as soon as GSC could get around to, you know, finishing making it.

If that time hasn't arrived, I think it's fast-approaching. On August 20, almost two years after the base game's release, Stalker 2 will get its first expansion, Cost of Hope.

Details

This is the first of two planned story DLCs for the game, this one focusing on the Zone's Duty (who think the Zone is scary and we should shoot it), and Freedom (who think the Zone is wondrous and we should share it) factions. "Explore uncharted locations, encounter unexpected allies and enemies, discover powerful weapons, and experience a gripping new story," goes the blurb.

"Launching in line" with Cost of Hope is Stalker 2's long-awaited 2.0 update, which I might honestly be more ravenous for. In August last year, GSC announced that it would be undertaking the fairly mammoth task of completely updating the version of Unreal Engine 5 the game runs on, from 5.1 to 5.5.4. That's update 2.0's big crowning bulletpoint. Mind you, it's also bringing new features and content of its own—which will, unlike the DLC, be free to all Stalker 2 owners.

GSC says it will have more to share on both Cost of Hope and update 2.0 as we draw nearer to the August 20 release date.

I've not touched Stalker 2 since that feverish review period. I figured I'd wait for GSC to do its thing. I think it might be time to return. I loved Stalker 2 when it was practically on fire. A (more or less) working version of the game with some shinier and more stable UE5 bells and whistles? Sign me up.