S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl has received a gigantic patch with 1700 changes – it makes corrections to all elements of the game

Developers from the GSC Game World studio announced the release of the first really major patch for their post-apocalyptic shooter S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl in 2025.

Image Source: GSC Game World

Update 1.2 is now live on PC and Xbox consoles. The patch includes over 1,700 fixes and improvements to all aspects of the game, including balance, locations, quests, performance, and the A-Life 2.0 life simulation system.

In particular, we have improved the behavior of NPCs when searching corpses – they can now pick up better equipment from the dead and switch to more powerful weapons – as well as the shooting accuracy of AI-controlled characters.

Image source: Steam (Mavka)

In addition, we improved stealth (including adjusting the player detection time), the behavior and animations of mutants in combat, added a new ability to the Controller, and the light from the flashlight now casts shadows on objects.

Other notable changes (see Steam for full list):

• Fixed more than 100 EXCEPTION_ACCESS_VIOLATION errors that caused crashes;
• Fixed a memory leak when sorting items;
• Improved the transition from intro videos to gameplay;
• Many fixes in story and side missions;
• Added parkour animation from a crouching position;
• Added animations of NPC death from anomalies;
• Improved synchronization of NPC steps and sounds from them;
• Added the ability to bind keys for the journal and notes;
• Added animations for changing fire mode when the item selector is open;
• Improved the upgrade menu interface;
• Audio, intro videos and voice acting received almost 100 fixes.

Image Source: GSC Game World

Finally, the developers thanked the players for their support and feedback, and also pledged to release updates as often as possible. The promised plan for further development of the project has not yet been presented.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 was released on November 20, 2024 on PC (Steam, GOG, Microsoft Store, EGS), Xbox Series X and S, and Game Pass. Sales in two days after the release exceeded 1 million copies – according to the co-owner of GSC, the game has already paid for itself.