S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl news & patch notes

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. trilogy on PC, Xbox, and PlayStation will receive a free upgrade to S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Legends of the Zone Trilogy Enhanced Edition on May 20, 2025. New shaders, lighting, textures, gamepad support, Steam Deck, Steam Workshop, Achievements, and more. Full FAQ: https://www.stalker-game.com/en/faq

Winter is a tough season, especially in the Zone. And even though some winter days felt like late March, stalkers are jubilant to welcome the advent of spring. The season when everything is new, the world refreshes, and the Zone is no exception. Curious mutants lurking through the grass searching for adventures, artefacts and anomalies are easier to spot. Seasoned veterans are ready to find what was left under the snow, some romantic stalkers are happy to see first flowers and traders are ready to welcome newcomers. Spring is a big deal to them, tons of rookies are looking to venture for a better life, and they need equipment, and food, and drinks, and, you can see where it goes. Most rookies go by the established route. Steam offers discounts up to 75% for classic S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games. But some future stalkers can venture into the unknown, that is console Zone, and try S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Legends of the Zone trilogy. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. world joins consoles, and you can try to survive and find your way with a gamepad. This route is branched into two separate entries, Xbox Store and PlayStation Store. It is up to you to choose one you prefer.

Deadly anomalies, dangerous mutants, anarchists, bandits, free stalkers, players and partners are heartily invited to join us and play the demo of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl at gamescom 2023 on 23-27 August. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/1620000/f34f3c766bcb8edc95bdbe14e99ff588f94a57ff.jpg

Fixed Ukrainian localization to include more character voices.

Traditional Chinese (texts only) added as localization option.

Minor update in the renderers initialization sequence to address issue with freezing the game on computers powered by 12th Gen Intel® Core™ processors running on Windows 11. Patch affects only R2 render (Full Dynamic Lighting @ DirectX® 9). The reason behind this issue is the fact Intel dropped hardware support for DX9 in their integrated graphics cards found in 12th Gen (and upper) CPUs and discrete Arc GPUs. To support older games, emulation layer called D3D9On12 is used to translate DX9 API calls to DX12 at runtime. The game has somewhat complicated initialization which locked the emulator. To address the issue, initialization was simplified a bit to be more emulator friendly. Update, June 15 Thanks to the valuable patch feedback collected in this thread, we’re releasing a really tiny fix:


• R2 render (Dynamic Lighting) should now work properly on the systems with outdated DirectX End-User Runtime
• Multiplayer servers with previous version should not reject clients with the new version
• On numerous requests, we created public “beta” branch called “pre-win11-patch” which points to the game version without this patch
• Information for modders: the only file changed in the patch is “xrRender_R2.dll”

Adrenaline roof jumps or painstaking, step by bolt, advance to the goal? Bloodthirsty zombies or predatory mutants? The nights that turn hunters to prey, or the Emission that gives you the only chance to survive by hiding as deep as possible? Together with our partners at Techland, we got you an option to add both the universes to your collection at once! The “Dying Light Definitive Edition + S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Trilogy” bundle is already available here in Steam. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/1620000/c9a0ff3143adcaed78199fa9e957bd209ee23b99.jpg

Today, the oldest campfire in the Zone is burning, having been alight for 16 years. How many stalkers have come to bask in its warm glow, seeking respite from the terrifying adventures of the Zone? Countless. How many shadows have tried to extinguish it? Yet it still burns. Dozens of broken guitars, hundreds of stale bread loaves, and thousands of empty cans litter the campsite. Leftover sausages and energy drink cans... This fire heard so many stories! No stalker in the entire Zone knows them all, but the fire remembers each one. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/1620000/f3292b2dc26195c033c3e137a074bb344a92ee86.png For 16 years, the Zone's campfire has been with us, since it was first lit in 2007, the day S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl was released. Thanks to you, the fire still burns and welcomes stalkers, listens to legends, and helps us survive the dark and dangerous nights of the Zone. Thank you for joining these gatherings 16 years ago and writing legends with us. Happy 16th Anniversary of S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl, Stalkers!

Bright Emission illuminates the sky. Seems the Noosphere is proceeding that stalkers from Awaken Realms have discovered — something that will forever go down in the history of the Zone. Rumors say that these explorers are true masters of their craft and are ready to share some fruits of the expedition! Clues we've got: you'll need a squad of stalker mates, a safe shelter with one evening supply stock, and… a table. Perhaps a campfire for complete immersion. We guess the best chance to clear it out is on their stream that’s start right now:

The last leaves drop down to the soil. Winter takes its toll, and the Zone gets covered with new, pure snow. The snow that will change its look but not the essence: strong, dangerous and a bit lonely. She keeps the memories about those times when the first stalkers did their first timid steps through the fences, ruins and anomalous puddles. Today those stalkers are hardy wolves, perhaps. And they are waiting for her next call. The call that they are promised to answer back by returning to Her, their home. If you desire to renew your ticket to Pripyat, follow the first stalkers steps and find your own path… Then GSC Game World birthday sale will give you an opportunity! From the 5th to the 12th of December, buy our games with a great discount and venture into this winter trip! Good winter hunting, stalker.

The charity sale of GSC Game World games is over. The great reason to be proud of our community. Thank you all! Those who hear Ukrainians. Those who open their doors to Ukrainians. Those who do not stand aside: tweet, show their support, correspond, offer help, take to the streets all around the world, donate money, participate in charity sales, join the ranks of volunteers, feed those who are starving, dismantle blockages, protect, treat, transport, rescue and never back down. You are incredible! Together with you, we’ve managed to raise more than $800,000. After taxes and store commissions, all funds will be donated to the «Come Back Alive» Charitable Foundation. Thanks to this sale, there are more Cossacks in the Sich, stalkers in the Zone, and the Ukrainian people made new friends ready to come to his aid. We will remember that. Always.

Friends! We are incredibly grateful for every purchase during the GSC for Ukraine Charity Sale. Now we see your powerful support — on some platforms we even had to generate new game keys for the S.T.A.L.K.E.R series. By purchasing any games already released by GSC Game World, you are helping the defenders of Ukraine to protect our Independence. There are 3 days left until the end of the Charity Sale. You are incredible. Do not stop!

It has been more than a month since the war started in Ukraine. A painful and horribly long time. But in these exact moments, a genuine unity appears. These days, «Duty» with «Freedom» are standing shoulder to shoulder in a single row with militaries, protecting their motherland. Free volunteers are fetching incredibly rare stuff from the well-developed stashes network. Cossacks from Territorial Defence are consolidating to transform any little town into an impregnable Sich. And mages of the Internet are casting Empire-Annihilation spells to ensure our efficient informational support and helping the world to find the truth about the events. And to help these and many other Ukrainians, GSC Game World is starting a charity sale of its games. All the money gained will be transferred to the «Come back alive» fund, which saves Ukrainians' lives each day since 2014. The sale is active from the 4th to the 11th of April on Steam (S.T.A.L.K.E.R. trilogy only), GOG, HumbleBundle, Fanatical, Greenmangaming, GamersGate. It includes all the released games of our studio with up to 80% discount. While buying during this sale, you are helping to save lives! And don't forget that you can directly donate to the «Come back alive» fund. More information on the link: comebackalive.in.ua/donate

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 is a brand-new entry in the legendary series, enjoyed by millions of players worldwide. The explosive combination of first-person shooter, immersive sim and horror is back. It’s the ultimate S.T.A.L.K.E.R. experience of unprecedented scale, advanced graphics, freedom of choices and the thickest atmosphere of a deadly adventure. Welcome to The Zone — an area of exclusion around the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. Full of radiation, mutants and anomalies, it keeps drawing adventurers from beyond the perimeter. Bounty hunters dwell deep into the Zone, driven by its treasures and mysteries. These people are known as stalkers. Are you ready to become one of them? {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/1620000/aa98b5449edb03c076acec1432b49ee5f955141f.jpg Immerse in the Zone For the first time in the history of the franchise, the Zone will be yours to explore as a seamless post-apocalyptic open-world — one of the biggest ones to date. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/1620000/303e6c42e4a4cbf88dc1b64b7e25f36e058372f3.jpg It’s Your Story Craft your own story, as the decisions you make will affect more than just your fate, but also the world itself. A-Life 2.0 A living world simulating system controls the state of the Zone, making it truly alive. All sorts of things will happen every moment — even if you are not involved in them directly. Cutting-Edge Tech Ray-tracing, photogrammetry, full-body and face motion capture: we use industry-recognized technologies to offer you the best S.T.A.L.K.E.R experience possible. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/1620000/e5303fcaa8e41bece74de8bfbc53adcc954ea9b1.jpg Find the courage to answer the call. Good hunting, stalker.