GSC Game World pushes STALKER 2: Heart of Chernobyl release date to December 2022

Gamers looking to get their dose of Cheeki Breeki may have to wait a while longer before they can jump into "The Zone" for artefact hunting. Developers GSC Game World has announced that it has pushed back the STALKER 2: Heart of Chernobyl launch date to December 8, 2022, and that's a near eight-month delay over the original April 28 release.

The announcement comes after multiple rumours of STALKER 2: Heart of Chernobyl's delay popped up online. No exact reason has been cited for the delay, but the super-late launch date suggests that the game's development may have hit a snag. It has been in the pipeline for nearly ten years, so a few more months shouldn't be a hard pill to swallow for most fans. We can rest easy knowing that the game will have no NFTs, though.

Based on what we've seen so far, STALKER 2: Heart of Chernobyl looks gorgeous, and it's best if the devs take their time with this one. As the adage goes, "A delayed game is eventually good, but a rushed game is forever bad. On the other hand, spending too much time on a game runs the risk of spawning a second Cyberpunk 2077, and nobody wants to go through that ordeal again.