GSC Game World has finally given S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl fans a release date. You’ll just have to wait a while longer than its previous Q1 2024 release window, as the developer has announced a “final release date” of September 5, 2024 for PC and Xbox Series. Accompanying the announcement is a new trailer.

“While there is absolutely no way to make another delay sound less dim, we decided to be clear about our reasons to postpone the game for the sake of yet another wave of polishing,” states the press release from GSC Game World.

“During Gamescom 2023, GSC Game World decided to show a small part of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 to the players publicly for the first time ever. Two key points emerged from that. The first one was: it absolutely felt and played like a S.T.A.L.K.E.R. game, which basically summed up both the key intention and the main inspiration for the project from the very beginning. The second one was: on the technical side of things, the game apparently needed more time in the oven.

Throughout the frankly challenging development process, time was of the team’s main essence. Seeing the scope of polishing and understanding the limits of the players’ patience, GSC was absolutely dedicated to releasing the game in Q1 2024. That, however, doesn’t change the fact that at the beginning of this year, certain technical imperfections still hold S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 below the expected standards for the final experience the fans are waiting for.

This extended journey to the release will be supported with much more content from the game to be shared later this year.”

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl will be available for the Xbox Series, the Xbox Game Pass, and PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store. Pre-orders are available via the official site.