Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl Receives Guns & Looting Update
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- S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl received a massive Patch 1.5, titled Guns & Looting, on June 25, 2025.
- Besides the Three-line rifle and the new pistol Kora, the developer also added the A-Life system, over 250 fixes, and mod support to the game.
- The proprietary NPC simulation system A-Life was implemented in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl as part of the Patch 1.5.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl received a massive Patch 1.5, titled Guns & Looting, on June 25, 2025.
Besides the increase of the player stash window size and the addition of the Water Electric Tornado, the Three-line rifle, and the new pistol Kora, the developer also implemented the A-Life system and mod support, along with over 250 fixes.
On top of that, Patch 1.5 introduced the looting mechanic. From now on, stalkers can grab mutant parts such as eyes, tusks, and tentacles for traders. Describing the feature, the game’s developer hinted at special tricks that should be learned at Malachite before players try to get mutant parts in a decent, tradable condition.
The proprietary NPC simulation system A-Life, first introduced in the original Stalker trilogy, was implemented in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl as part of the Guns & Looting update. It was designed to make the Zone feel alive by simulating NPCs and mutants both in and outside the player’s view, complete with daily routines, combat, travel, death, loot exchanges, and different encounters.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl also received the addition of the mod tool titled Zone Kit. From now on, players can modify existing content and create new assets such as animations, weapons, mechanics, and even wonders of the Zone. Notably, as of the time of writing, Zone Kit—which is free to download via the Epic Games Store—requires 471 GB of available storage to download and then unpacks into 659 GB, while the developer-recommended available storage for the game itself is 160 GB.
Developed and published by GSC Game World, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl was launched on Nov. 24, 2025, for Xbox Series X|S and PC. The game sold 1 million copies within 48 hours of its release. By March 4, 2026, the game had reached 6 million players.
As of the time of writing, the game featured a “Very Positive” rating on Steam with 86,828 reviews and an all-time peak of 121,335 players, according to SteamDB.
