GSC unveils S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 roadmap for 2025 — engine upgrades, night vision devices and new missions

GSC Game World has presented the official development plan for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl for 2025. The second phase of ZoneKit and engine updates are waiting for us.

The main step is the game’s transition to Unreal Engine 5.5.4, which will provide new tools for working with the Zone’s atmosphere and performance optimization. The developers have warned that this may affect the pace of other updates, but they are ready to take the risk for the best result.

In the second half of 2025, players will face a number of innovations. There will be night vision devices (as stated in the leaks), binoculars, and updates to the A-Life system. For example, the Zone will become more alive: NPCs will not see as well in the dark without night vision devices. At the same time, the combat behavior of NPCs will be updated, and mutants will receive updated balance and tactics.

The Zone will have new anomalies, some more missions from familiar characters, new weather conditions, and an extended day and night cycle. The content of caches, endurance mechanics, and energy sources will change, and an immersive display mode will be added. A Master difficulty level will also be added after the creators hinted at a more hardcore passage.

The update will also affect the interface: the equipment screen and other UI elements will be improved, the function of restoring local saves will be added, and further optimization will be carried out. At the same time ZoneKit will move from the first phase to the second — support for audio mods, narrative tools, improved compatibility of modifications, and support for Blueprints.

In addition, there will be update of the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. trilogy. And more information about S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 on R55 and PS5 Pro. As you know, the second part was still decided to be ported to the Sony console, although at first abandoned such plans. In the first half of 2025, the developers fulfilled what they promised in the first “road map”, where they talked about new weapons and improved loot from mutants. Plus, GSC fixed a lot of quests, so now the doors to the Shevchenko Center do not break down.

Source: GSC Game World 1, 2