If GSC Game World has a mantra, I believe it would be ‘the eccentric innovators are making it happen.’ Not only did this Ukrainian studio recently launch an exceptional game, albeit one with a fiery reputation, in the face of some of the most challenging circumstances – Stalker 2 last year; they’ve now chosen to ambitiously rebuild the entire Unreal Engine 5 foundation upon which their creation runs.
So says Stalker 2’s roadmap for Q3 and Q4 2025, released yesterday. Right now, Stalker 2 uses Unreal Engine 5.1, but top of GSC’s list of bulletpoints for the year to come is “Engine update to Unreal Engine 5.5.4 (for optimisation).” That’s not the bleeding-edge version of Epic’s engine—that would be UE5.6—but it is a recent one: it only hit last March.
Initially when Stalker 2 was launched, we encountered several performance issues such as lags and stuttering. Even after numerous updates, players still frequently report performance problems online. With hope, a significant engine upgrade will significantly reduce these complaints. GSC Game World mentions that this update will introduce new features and tools to make the Zone an even more appealing environment, but most notably, it will implement the latest optimizations from Unreal Engine 5, improving stability and performance.
Enthusiasts are quite thrilled about this development. As FishySardines99, a highly respected user on Reddit, states, “This is amazing, if they successfully execute it, it could be groundbreaking.” Similarly, TramplexReal agrees, “That’s surprising!” He continues, “As a developer of games myself, engine updates are usually a challenging aspect in any project. I’m glad they’re undertaking this, perhaps now I might get to experience the game without frame rate issues.
On the Stalker Discord, a developer from GSC hinted at a possibility that they might use Unreal Engine 5.6, but stressed that it depends on testing as updating the engine can be complex and challenging. While it’s not something to get overly excited about just yet, it is surprising to see them considering such an advanced version of the engine.
For the remainder of the year, updating Unreal Engine 5 isn’t just Stalker 2’s main focus, but a significant one. However, there are several other exciting developments planned as well. The studio has hinted at introducing various night vision devices and binoculars, further improvements to A-Life, new anomalies, a revamped loot system (which may make exploring more rewarding), and user interface enhancements, among other things. All these announcements have me thrilled! Even when Stalker 2 was still in its rough stages, I found it captivating. Once GSC wraps up their work, I’m definitely looking forward to diving back into the game for another playthrough.
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2025-08-13 20:35