At this year’s Gamescom showcase, I was fortunate enough to sit down again with GSC Game World’s leadership team to learn the latest about STALKER 2’s development and where things are headed. The deep dive I was given into the ecosystem was tantalizing, given that I’m a bolstered fan of the franchise following the masterful delivery of Cost of Hope.
During my chat with Ievgen and Maria Grygorovych, I picked up some tidbits about the ongoing development of STALKER 2, including a juicy piece about the planned free multiplayer update, which has been on the minds of fans worldwide for the longest time.
Update: it’s still coming.
STALKER 2 Will Get Multiplayer At Some Point
If you head to the STALKER 2 website and scroll down a little bit, you’ll see this reference beneath the game’s blurb:
Multiplayer mode is coming soon after the release date as a free update for the game.
Unfortunately, GSC Game World has never delivered on this promise, but it hasn’t been for a lack of trying. In the years that have followed the game’s release (a whole two), the team has been head down and working on improving the base game and producing more single-player content.
That includes Cost of Hope, the all-new DLC that dropped earlier this month, and the game’s incoming second expansion.
That, understandably, hasn’t left much room for the planned multiplayer update.
Right now, the community mostly concerns itself with wondering how a multiplayer mode would even work in STALKER 2. For instance, if you play the game on PC, there’s a very high chance that you mod the game, and that’s very much a local thing that would eradicate any chances of connecting with other players.
However, GSC Game World is still cooking, and that long-awaited multiplayer update is still in the works.
Both Maria and Ievgen assured me that it’s still coming, but they didn’t offer any kind of timeline. The studio is dramatically busy right now, but unfortunately, I can’t talk about everything that they’re working on!
Personally, I’d love to explore The Zone with friends in STALKER 2, but at the same time, I am perfectly happy adventuring with Skif across the open world as a solo explorer. I’ll give GSC Game World the time they need to get the multiplayer thing right.
Are you eager to see the STALKER 2 multiplayer update delivered in full? Let us know your thoughts on the Insider Gaming Discord server.
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Grant has been gaming for 30+ years and in the industry for 10+. You'll probably find him playing a post-apocalyptic game or an extraction shooter somewhere.
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