Stalker 2's release date may have been leaked

techradar.com:

Stalker sequel Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl will release in December, according to distributor Plaion.

Whilst not formally confirmed by developer GSC Game World, the website for Plaion — the company formerly known as Koch Media — has listed the highly-anticipated shooter sequel as releasing on December 1, 2023.

So far, so what, right? Fair enough – it's hardly concrete evidence. But when you factor in that other games on Plaion's sites without a release date have been given placeholder dates for December 31, 2023, rather than December 1, some fans hope that December 1 is the real deal.

Of course, without formal word from GSC all we can do is take this rumor with a hefty bucket of salt, but for now, it's keeping the hope alive for fans who had hoped to be stalking by the end of the year. Watch this space, I guess – Gamescom is coming our way soon, so (hopefully) we may find out more then. 

The devs of the upcoming first-person apocalyptic shooter, Stalker 2: Heart of Chernobyl, GSC Game World recently revealed that Russian hackers leaked test builds and other stolen material into the public domain.

After being hacked for «almost a year and a half», GSC Game World stated on Twitter that Russian hackers have been able to «access and compromise some of [its] leaked information intended for internal testing».

GSC Game World appealed to fans not to «look at or share and leaked materials from the game» in case it «ruin[ed] your experience of exploring the Zone by yourself».

The team revealed that the hackers had taken advantage of a vulnerability, and whilst frustrating, it at least meant GSC could identify where the issue was and address it before its release… be that December or otherwise.

15 years after it was first released,