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During the March presentation of Xbox Partner Preview 2026, Ukrainian studio GSC Game World announced the release of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Cost of Hope. This is the first storyline expansion to the first-person shooter S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl. The company emphasizes that this large-scale expansion will add “dozens” of hours of “non-linear gameplay”. The release is scheduled for this summer and will be available for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series S/X.
In S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Cost of Hope, players once again take on the role of Scythian, who finds himself in the center of events that unfold in parallel with the story of Heart of Chornobyl. After installing the add-on, the new storyline is activated by a signal on the PDA during the game. As before, the player’s decisions will determine the development of events, and their consequences can affect not only the Zone but also much wider areas.
In the story, the confrontation between the groups is escalating. “Duty, one of the oldest groups, sees the Zone as a danger that needs to be isolated and destroyed. Freedom, on the other hand, sees it as a gift that should be explored and used for good. “The fragile peace between Duty and Freedom is about to collapse. The bowels of the Zone, closed for decades, are reopening to stalkers. There are unprecedented dangers and miracles ahead, and everything is just beginning,” reads the description to the expansion’s trailer. – “Get ready for new expeditions to the Zone in a large non-linear expansion, where dozens of hours of gameplay, unforgettable stories, and unusual characters await you.
The expansion opens up two new regions for exploration. One of them is the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, which has remained abandoned and closed for decades, but now attracts stalkers again. The second is the Iron Forest, where players will find intricate routes and a large number of unexplored locations. Each of the new territories has its own activity centers, tasks, and events. In addition, the game will feature new types of weapons and equipment.
Information about the cost of the expansion has not yet been disclosed, but it will be included in the Ultimate Edition.
GSC Game World also announced that the expansion packs for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 will be released in parts. Cost of Hope will be the middle chapter of the so-called “second trilogy”. Together with the upcoming story DLC, the details of which will be announced later, it will form a new large-scale story arc within the post-apocalyptic story. In the future, a multiplayer mode is also expected to appear as a free update, but no new information about it has been received for a long time.
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