Stalker 2 devs confirm they’re putting the “finishing touches” on the game’s colossal 2.0 update

Stalker 2 Skiff standing in front of a nuclear warning symbol

Published:

23 July 2026

Last Updated: 23 July 2026

By:

Lewis White

GSC Game World is currently putting the finishing touches on the next update for Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl.

Following statements that Xbox paid for the entire development of the open-world survival game, GSC Game World issued a statement that refuted the claims. Following the claims from company founder Sergiy Grygorovych, the studio pushed back, saying his claims are “simply not true”.

“In particular, his recent claims, including his statements regarding the relationship between S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 and the Xbox teams, do not reflect the actual facts,” the developer told IGN. After stepping down from his CEO role in 2014, the current GSC management claims that Grygorovych was “not involved in negotiations… or in the actual development of the game”.

GSC Game World confirmed that the company’s owner, Max Krippa, “funded the majority of the development”, not Xbox. Additionally, the studio used the opportunity to discuss the future of Stalker 2, explaining that the next update is around the corner alongside its upcoming DLC expansion, Cost of Hope.

“We hope that such public statements will not distract attention from what truly matters to the team today,” the studio said. “GSC Game World is currently putting the finishing touches on a significant update for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2, as well as its first large-scale story DLC. We will be sharing more details very soon”.

While the studio didn’t confirm which update is currently nearing release, it’s likely the long-awaited 2.0 update, which is the “only major patch planned for Summer”. This update will see a massive upgrade from an earlier version of Unreal Engine 5 to a more performant and stable version of the engine.

GSC has confirmed that the engine upgrade will release slightly before the release of Cost of Hope to allow for any unforeseen bug fixes prior to the expansion’s launch. Right now, there is no release date for Stalker 2: Cost of Hope, however, the expansion is expected to release before the end of August.

Stalker 2 is currently available on Xbox Series, PS5 and PC. At the time of writing, there is are no plans for a Nintendo Switch 2 port of the intensive open-world game.

About The Author

Lewis White

Lewis White is a veteran games journalist with over a decade in the field. Starting with beloved Xbox website ICXM/XboxMAD, Lewis became the Gaming Editor at MSPoweruser before becoming the Editor in Chief of StealthOptional and Gfinityesports. Lewis later jumped to By Gamers For Gamers where he jumped to become EIC of VideoGamer and the host of the New VideoGamer Podcast prior to the website’s acquisition.

Over the years, Lewis has also seen long-form investigative pieces published in outlets such as Eurogamer, PCGamesN, Wireframe, Retro Gamer, Nintendo Life, and EDGE. Now, as the Editor in Chief of FRVR Blog, Lewis strives to bring the same level of quality journalism with interview-led content to the site in both written and audio form with the FRVR Podcast.

With a First Degree BA Hons in Games Journalism and Public Relations, Lewis has been a stable part of the British games press for over a decade, and has frequently displayed his love of Halo, The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, and other games pretty much everywhere he’s worked. And FRVR is no different.

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