Handcrafted open world: “truly unforgettable locations” S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl was created without procedural generation

Zone in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 spans 60 km2, making the post-apocalyptic shooter’s seamless open world one of the largest in gaming. You might think that GSC Game World relied on procedural generation when creating it, but no.

Image source: GSC GAME WORLD

GSC Game World technical producer Evgeniy Kulik, in an interview with PC Gamer at gamescom 2024, said that the open world of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl is largely man-made.

According to Kulik, GSC tried procedural generation, but the studio was not happy with the results: the team set out to “create the best possible experience, completely unique and truly unforgettable locations.”

In this regard, a man-made approach was chosen: “All the locations that are in the game – from the largest places to the smallest villages – are made entirely by human hand… by our level designers and artists.”

«We put a lot of ourselves and our talents into creating these amazing [game] assets… It took a lot of time and effort, but we are happy with the result,” Kulik said.

The producer called S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 the largest and most geographically diverse game on Unreal Engine 5. To realize their vision, GSC even had to make their own tools.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl will be released on November 20 on PC (Steam, GOG, EGS, Microsoft Store), Xbox Series X and S, and Game Pass. In the gamescom 2024 trailer, the developers showed the mercenary Scar from Clear Sky.