STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl Reveals Patch Notes for December 8 Update

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As a huge STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl fan, I’m really glad to see GSC Game World continuing to support the game with updates! They’ve just released another big one for PS5 that fixes a bunch of bugs people were having trouble with, and even adds a feature to stop a really annoying problem from happening. It’s been a long journey getting this game finished, but it’s clearly paying off – STALKER 2 is a real success, and it’s awesome to see the developers keeping things polished and improving the experience for everyone.

The road to releasing STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl has been incredibly challenging. First announced in 2010, the game faced years of setbacks, including staff reductions, financial problems, canceled versions, and even complete reboots. These difficulties were compounded by the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, forcing team members to leave their homes or join the war effort. Despite everything, the studio pushed forward, and STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl was ultimately released in 2024 to positive reception.

As a huge fan of the STALKER series, I’m so glad to see GSC Game World thinking about modders! STALKER games are amazing with mods, especially on PC, but there’s always been a worry about installing something that could break the whole game. It was a real risk! But with this new update, they’ve added a really smart feature that basically protects you from mods causing a complete crash. It’s a huge relief knowing that even if a mod is incompatible, it won’t stop me from launching the game at all. It’s fantastic!

Like the last update for STALKER 2 in November, this patch includes a lot of bug fixes. The developers have fixed crashes and problems that could happen during story missions. For example, a visual glitch during a cinematic in the “The Price Goes Up” mission, specifically with the character Ritcher, has been corrected. While not a major issue, these kinds of glitches can break your immersion in the game.

GSC Game World acknowledges player feedback as a key factor in this update, with many of the fixes stemming from suggestions received. This update specifically resolves a visual issue where power lines would vanish as players approached, and also corrects a bug that caused items to spawn underground, preventing players from accessing them.

Image via GSC Game World

Following its release on PC and Xbox in 2024, STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl became available on PS5 on November 20, 2025. A significant update accompanied the launch, further improving the game for both new and longtime players with bug fixes and quality-of-life enhancements. Fans are now eager to see what the future holds for STALKER 2, hoping GSC Game World will release additional content, mirroring the expansions and sequels that followed the original STALKER game.

STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl Update 1.7.1 Patch Notes

  • Introduced fail-safe mechanism for cases where mod incompatibility prevents users from launching title
  • Fixed an issue where the power lines could disappear on approach.
  • Fixed an issue where the Ward NPC could teleport in the player’s field of view after killing noontiders during the Wishful Thinking mission.
  • Fixed an issue where the Ward soldiers could not help Skif to hold position during the Assault On The Duga mission.
  • Fixed a massive performance drop on opening PDA while the Shadows option is set to Epic.
  • Fixed an issue where the player could sprint while overweighted with loot.
  • Fixed an issue where the player could observe texture flickering on the staircase after the cutscene during the Back To The Slag Heap mission.
  • Fixed an issue where the player could have visual artifacts on Richter during the cinematic in the The Price Goes Up mission.
  • Fixed shadows on Skif’s hands during the cutscene in the Back To The Slag Heap mission.
  • Fixed an issue where the player could use weapon attachments from the trade window.
  • Fixed an issue where the settings values could be displayed incorrectly after using the auto-detect or reset settings features.
  • Fixed an issue that could cause artifacts to spawn under the ground.
  • Fixed several issues with dead zone settings for the DualSense controller.
  • Fixed crashes.

We really appreciate your continued feedback and support! Your comments on social media and bug reports are helping us improve the Zone with every update. Please keep sharing your thoughts on Steam and other social platforms, and if you find anything unusual in the Zone, please report it to our Technical Support Hub.

https://support.stalker2.com/hc

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2025-12-09 18:07