GSC has published the 1.2 patch for STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl, releasing more than 1,700 bug fixes across all platforms. In a post accompanying the release, it was revealed that ‘all aspects of the game’ have been addressed, from AI and UI to weapon balancing and open-world exploration mechanics.
It’s one heck of a list, but that has become par for the course for GSC, which has worked tirelessly to optimise STALKER 2 since the game was released in December 2024.
Major Update 1.2
One of the major areas addressed by GSC Game World in the 1.2 patch for STALKER 2 is the game’s AI engine and mechanics.
This update has swept the ‘A-Life’ ecosystem, with upgrades being applied to the accuracy, stealth, behaviour, and interactions of NPCs throughout The Zone. The team has also provided extended fixes and tweaks to the many mutants that roam this open-world title.
Many performance-based changes have been applied in the STALKER 2 1.2 patch, too. GSC has repaired some sequences that were causing FPS drops, and a major memory leak issue has been sorted out.
The full list of improvements is nuts – GSC has considered every little detail in this major patch. For instance, the team has looked at everything from visual glitches occurring when NPCs smoke to the visual clarity of PDA models in low-light areas. The granularity is insane.
Hundreds of fixes have been applied to the full suite of missions – both major and minor – that players explore as they traverse the story of Heart of Chornobyl. In December, I gave STALKER 2 a glowing review despite there being a few issues that surfaced in some of the missions I uncovered.
Patch 1.2 was more about fixes than it was about additions, so don’t expect there to be too many new things to uncover the next time you log into the game. GSC added some extra controller features, and there’s a new ‘night music theme’ that’ll play when you explore Zalissya. Plus, some new notes have been scattered around the open world, but that’s about it.
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For more Insider Gaming coverage, check out the news that Ubisoft has big plans for Rainbow Six
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