Stalker 2 sells over a million copies: 'This is just the start'

Stalker 2 has released, the long-awaited sequel to a PC classic that our own Joshua Wolens found "is still Stalker, down to its bones." The most pleasing element for fellow Zone-fanciers is that, after all this time, the game largely sticks to the design sensibilities of the originals, and as our review says "hasn't sacrificed the things that made it so special all those years ago."

Well it looks like there might just be a market for it. "No wonder it feels a bit crowded in the Zone," reads a new post from GSC Game World. "A million copies were sold, and much more stalkers joined the artifact hunt with Game Pass.

The fact that Stalker 2 is here is something of an achievement in itself. The game's development was knocked off course by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which saw GSC Game World forced to relocate while many of its staff left to serve in the Ukrainian army: At least one, Volodymyr Yezhov, died in action. On top of this a new office in Prague suffered a major fire shortly after opening, and in 2023 Russian hackers leaked early test builds of the game.

Rich is a games journalist with 15 years' experience, beginning his career on Edge magazine before working for a wide range of outlets, including Ars Technica, Eurogamer, GamesRadar+, Gamespot, the Guardian, IGN, the New Statesman, Polygon, and Vice. He was the editor of Kotaku UK, the UK arm of Kotaku, for three years before joining PC Gamer. He is the author of a Brief History of Video Games, a full history of the medium, which the Midwest Book Review described as "[a] must-read for serious minded game historians and curious video game connoisseurs alike."