After many years, Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl finally came out on November 20 and got off to a great start.
GSC Game World, the folks behind the game, shared that they’ve sold over 1 million copies for PC and Xbox, but there’s more to it than just those numbers. They mentioned that even more players are diving into the game because it’s on Game Pass, though they didn’t say exactly how many.
There’s a lot of chatter about whether launching on Game Pass helps or hurts sales. Nobody’s really sure, and each game is its own case. With Stalker 2, we don’t know the budget or how many copies they hoped to sell. So, whether selling 1 million is good or bad isn’t clear, but GSC seems pretty happy about it.
No wonder it feels a bit crowdy in the Zone. A million copies were sold, and much more stalkers joined the artifact hunt with Game Pass.
This is just the start of our unforgettable adventure. The Heart of Chornobyl emanates stronger with each of us.
Thank You, stalkers!— S.T.A.L.K.E.R. OFFICIAL (@stalker_thegame)
Fans often wonder if games on Game Pass lose sales, but it’s hard to say.
It’s been a long time since we got a new Stalker game, with the last one being Call of Pripyat in 2009. People were really waiting for Stalker 2, especially since it was first announced back in 2012. It got canceled that year but later came back and was made using Unreal Engine 5.
The game was supposed to come out in 2022, but things got delayed when Russia invaded Ukraine, where the developers work. It was then moved to September 2024 and finally released on November 20.
You can buy Stalker 2 or play it with Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass. If you want more information, check out other games coming to Game Pass this month or look at GameSpot’s review and guides about Stalker 2.
