The Zone has never been so loud before! At the rest stops, stalkers are singing songs and playing the guitar. Laughter is heard everywhere: from Zalissya to Wild Island and beyond! At some point even the Quiet's Camp turned into a traffic jam. This week we are celebrating the 6 million stalkers who have come to play S.T.A.L.K.E.R.2: Heart of Chornobyl. Six million! A scope that is hard to comprehend, but it is real thanks to you. We are incredibly grateful and proud that each of you has left a unique mark in the Zone. Good hunting, stalkers!

Flip Side of the Zone
Local depths hold more than just artifacts and relics. They hold forgotten ambitions and dangerous knowledge, bearing scars from experiments that blur the line between science and madness. Many stalkers believe they're simply searching for material wealth, yet they brush against remnants of humanity's boldest and most perilous dreams. Old research facilities, buried under layers of dust and dread, were once brimming with the promise of progress—only to become cold graves for those strives, when the Zone was born.

This GFN Thursday wraps up another incredible year for cloud gaming. Take a look back at the top games and new features that made 2024 a standout for GeForce NOW members. Enjoy it all with three new games to close the year. Remember to mark the calendar for the CES opening keynote, to be delivered by NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang on Monday, Jan. 6.

That's a Wrap
In another ultimate year of high-performance cloud gaming, GeForce NOW introduced new features for cloud gamers and reached a significant milestone by surpassing 2,000 games in its library, thanks to strong collaborations with celebrated publishers. GeForce NOW also launched new data centers in Japan and Poland this year, bringing GeForce RTX 4080-powered servers to gamers in the regions. Day Passes were introduced to offer gamers more flexible ways to access the cloud, with the ability to enjoy premium benefits of Ultimate and Performance memberships for 24 hours at a time.

Today, AMD released the latest version of the AMD Software Adrenalin drivers, version 24.12.1 WHQL. This new release brings optimization for games like Marvel Rivals, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, Dragon Age: The Veilguard, Slitterhead, Delta Force, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl. It also extends AMD HYPR-Tune support to enable in-game technologies like AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution and AMD Radeon Anti-Lag 2. Automatic configuration for AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution with frame generation has been added for Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered, MechWarrior 5: Clans, and Red Dead Redemption 2. The latest AMD Software Adrenalin drivers also fixed problems and performance issues with Ollama and LM Studio, The Crew Motorfest, Monster Hunter: World and Fortnite.

DOWNLOAD: AMD Software Adrenalin 24.12.1 WHQL

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl is now available on PC and Xbox Series X/S, marking the end of a long and challenging development cycle that included the pandemic, relocations, cyberattacks, a fire in the Prague office, and, above all, the ongoing war in Ukraine, which continues to devastate the developers' Homeland.

The game is available for purchase on PC (Steam, Epic Games Store, GOG), Xbox Series X/S and Microsoft Store. Also, the game is available for Game Pass subscribers day one.

More than 600 games and applications feature RTX technologies, and each week new games integrating NVIDIA DLSS, NVIDIA Reflex and advanced ray-traced effects are released or announced, delivering the definitive PC experience for GeForce RTX players. This week, Industry Giant 4.0, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl all launch with day-one DLSS 3 support, LEGO Horizon Adventures is out now with DLSS 3, and Proton users can now use DLSS 3 Frame Generation on Linux to accelerate performance in Proton-compatible games.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl Launches November 20th with DLSS 3 & Reflex
GSC Game World's S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl is a brand-new entry in the legendary series, enjoyed by millions of players worldwide. The unique combination of first-person shooter, immersive sim, and horror is back. With unprecedented scale, advanced graphics, freedom of choices, and the thickest atmosphere of a deadly adventure, it's going to be the ultimate S.T.A.L.K.E.R. experience.

Intel today released the latest version of its Arc GPU Graphics Drivers. Version 101.6299 Beta comes with Game On optimization for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, and STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl. The company did not put out what kind of performance improvements to expect. This release doesn't include any game- or application-specific fixes, either. The company did take the opportunity to acknowledge identification of new issues with this release, which are listed below. Grab the drivers from the link below.

DOWNLOAD: Intel Arc GPU Graphics Drivers 101.6299 BetaThe change-log follows.

Intel has released the newest version of its Arc GPU Graphics drivers, version 101.6297 Beta. As this is a minor Beta update, it does not fix any previously seen bugs and issues, but rather just adds Game On support on Intel Arc A-series GPUs and Intel Core Ultra CPUs with Intel Arc GPUs for Farming Simulator 25, Planet Coaster 2, and Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake. Surprisingly, Intel did not add Game On support for two big upcoming titles, S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2: Heart of Chornobyl and Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, launching on November 20 and November 19, respectively. Hopefully, we'll get another drivers update soon.

There are still several known issues that are pretty much the same as with the previous Intel Arc Graphics 101.6130 Beta drivers, and these include issues with Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, Doom Eternal, DaVinci Resolve Studio, and other games and applications.

DOWNLOAD: Intel Arc GPU Graphics Drivers 101.6297 Beta

Ahead of the November 20th release, GSC Game World has now shared the full PC system requirements for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl. Powered by Epic's Unreal Engine 5, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl will definitely push hardware to its limits, despite the fact that it won't support any hardware ray tracing effects at launch.

The released PC system requirements are quite high, but at least GSC Game World, as well as NVIDIA and AMD, have confirmed it will feature DLSS and FSR 3.1. NVIDIA already added the support for both DLSS 3 and Reflex with its latest GeForce drivers, and AMD has it on its list of games as "upcoming." The game will run on Windows 10 and Windows 11 and need around 160 GB of SSD storage.

More than 600 games and applications feature RTX technologies, and each week new games integrating NVIDIA DLSS, NVIDIA Reflex and advanced ray-traced effects are released or announced, delivering the definitive PC experience for GeForce RTX players. In the very near future, both Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl will be launching with day-one support for DLSS 3 with Frame Generation and Super Resolution. Farming Simulator 25 launches today with day-one support for DLSS Super Resolution. And Mortal Rite is out now with DLSS Super Resolution. Additionally, our new Indiana Jones and the Great Circle GeForce RTX 40 Series GPU and laptop bundle is available now.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl Launches November 20th With DLSS 3 & Reflex
GSC Game World's S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl is a brand-new entry in the legendary series, enjoyed by millions of players worldwide. The unique combination of first-person shooter, immersive sim, and horror is back. With unprecedented scale, advanced graphics, freedom of choices, and the thickest atmosphere of a deadly adventure, it's going to be the ultimate S.T.A.L.K.E.R. experience.

NVIDIA has released its latest GeForce Game Ready drivers, version 566.14 WHQL. The new drivers release comes with optimization for S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2: Heart of Chornobyl and Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, including DLSS 3 support for these two games. The one-click optimal settings in GeForce Experience and the NVIDIA App have been updated with new titles as well and now include Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, Delta Force, Dragon Age: The Veilguard, Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered, and Red Dead Redemption.

The new GeForce 566.14 WHQL Game Ready drivers also fixes a couple of gaming and general bugs, including DSSR/DLDSR custom resolution not appearing in some games, issues with Call of Duty MWIII where filename change prevented users from using GFE Freestyle Filters, higher than normal CPU usage in Bluestacks/Corsair iCUE, and bug where cache files are still created even when Shader Cache size is disabled. The NVIDIA App is also finally out of the beta stage, and you can check out our in-depth review, as well as download it from NVIDIA.

DOWNLOAD: NVIDIA GeForce 566.14 WHQL

MSI is thrilled to announce a new collaboration with S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl, introducing four limited edition products: GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER 16G GAMING SLIM STALKER 2 EDITION, CLUTCH GM41 LIGHTWEIGHT WIRELESS STALKER 2 EDITION, VIGOR GK41 STALKER 2 EDITION, and FORCE PRO WIRELESS STALKER 2 EDITION. These exclusive products combine cutting-edge performance and immersive S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2-themed designs to enhance your gaming experience. Additionally, customers who purchase these limited-edition products will also be eligible to redeem S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl through MSI's Member Center, granting access to the full game and enhancing their overall gaming experience.

GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER 16G GAMING SLIM STALKER 2 EDITION
Powered by the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER 16G, this slimmer variant of the GAMING series offers high performance with ray tracing and DLSS support. TRI FROZR 3 thermal design keeps it cool and quiet during intense gaming.

After months of working in secret with the GSC GAME WORLD team, MSI is proud to announce the upcoming release of an exclusive and limited product line inspired by the game. Check out our announcement video—there may be some info hidden inside…

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl is a next-gen sequel to the award-winning PC game franchise developed by GSC Game World, set to deliver a unique action experience of survival in the post-apocalyptic Chornobyl Exclusion Zone.

• Experience one-of-a-kind gameplay, featuring the elements of a first-person shooter, immersive sim, and horror.
• Play a major part in a non-linear story that unfolds in the setting of local post-apocalyptic dark science fiction. Your Duty is to decide the fate of the Zone.
• Benchmark-setting graphics powered by the Unreal Engine 5.
• Official mod support, granting the crafty stalkers Freedom to expand and enrich the game universe.
• Multiplayer mode is coming soon after the release date as a free update for the game.

Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl is almost here, and from the looks of it, it's going to be a massive hit in the gaming industry if done to the finish without any hiccups. Not even true fans of the Stalker series would have been able to anticipate the massive map size of the Stalker 2 game. And the most interesting past is, it's all handcrafted and is not created using any procedural generation, as revealed by technical producer Evegeniy Kulik in an interview.

The game will feature a 64 square kilometers world, divided into 20 regions, each with different enemies, anomalies and people. As we all know, Stalker 2 is nearing release, and from what we can see, PlayStation players are going to miss out, as the game is slated for release on PC and Xbox. Despite the challenging development period due to the war, the team has cemented the game's title as a true gem in the making, causing us gamers to have nothing but respect towards GSC Game World for their dedication and effort. Just wait to see how hard these developers have worked in creating this game's open world - very uniquely.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl will now be launching on November 20, 2024, moving from the previously planned date of September 5, 2024.

"We know you might be tired of waiting, and we truly appreciate your patience. These two additional months will give us the chance to fix more "unexpected anomalies" (or simply "bugs", as you call them). We are always grateful for your ongoing support and understanding - it means the world to us. We're just as eager as you are to finally release the game and for you to experience it for yourself." said Yevhen Grygorovych, Game Director at GSC Game World.

Premiered during a showcase on Bilibili streaming platform, this clip contains both cutscenes and location overview, giving a glimpse of in-game story and atmosphere. It's also the first time you can have a taste of the Ukrainian voiceover - the one to be available alongside the English one for everyone to enjoy. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl releases on PC and Xbox Series X/S on September 5, 2024. The game will be available on Game Pass day one, and pre-orders are opened on our website, as well as on Steam and GOG.

"Behold Her! The Zone blossoms, in her own resplendent yet enigmatic and twisted way: luring, gifting, and taking away. Speaking in many voices, both familiar and new. How far to the edge will you go in pursuit of what you seek?"

Today, during the latest Xbox Partner Preview broadcast—as a surprise for Xbox gamers everywhere—GSC Game World launched the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Legends of the Zone Trilogy for Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S (via backwards compatibility). That's right - it's available today! The Legends of the Zone Trilogy bundle—available on the Microsoft Store for $39.99 USD—includes all three iconic games that make up the original S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Trilogy: Shadow of Chernobyl, Clear Sky, and Call of Pripyat—or you can pick up each of the games individually for $19.99 USD each. Every element from the original games has been maintained and faithfully ported to console thanks to the hard work of GSC Game World and their partners at Mataboo. This all makes for a great opportunity for Xbox gamers everywhere to get some foundational knowledge of S.T.A.L.K.E.R.'s universe in the lead-up to the launch of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl, coming day one to Game Pass on September 5, 2024.

But translating these hardcore PC games to an Xbox controller has been no small feat. For a series that is known for blending a variety of genres like horror, first-person shooter, exploration, and immersive sim, it was important for the team to get it right. Speaking with GSC Game World PR Specialist Zakhar Bocharov, we wanted to learn more about what this process was like, bringing these cult-classic, hardcore PC titles to console, and some of the innovative design and UI adjustments the team had to make to bring all three games to Xbox.

Dear stalkers, last year, during Gamescom 2023, we finally had the chance to meet in person. We gathered around the campfire with you to share something valuable that we have been creating for you for all these years—a small part of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl. Publicly, for the first time ever. Our one-time initiative then transformed into a journey from campfire to campfire across France, Brazil, Singapore and other countries. Thousands of players were able to play the game themselves and give us the much-needed feedback afterwards. And as true friends always do, you shared your honest thoughts about the game. Both positive and negative, and we are thankful for that. From your insights, we figured out two key points: the one to celebrate and the one to consider seriously.

The first one: the Zone remains the Zone. In its true beauty and after our likeness. The game absolutely feels and plays like S.T.A.L.K.E.R, the atmosphere, hardcore style, harsh and unwelcoming environment are ready to cook, and we can't be more grateful for these words, as they basically sum up both the key intention and the main inspiration for the project from the very beginning at the same time. The second one was: the gear in the backpack should be checked one more time to be completely sure it will not fail us in the most needed moment. On the technical side of things—the game needs more time.

GSC Game World has been busy showing of a preview build of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl at this week's Gamescom trade fair, and non-attendees have been treated to a new trailer—Bolts & Bullets—but the Ukrainian development (now primarily operating out of Prague, Czech Republic) has quietly shifted the release of their highly anticipated survival shooter from December 2023 to some point within the first quarter of next year. This was spotted by a couple of news outlets when perusing the latest press kit—this small detail is buried right at the bottom of the document (under "distribution"). The game's official website has also been revised with a Q1 2024 launch window.

The development team touts the sequel's: "unique combination of first-person shooter, immersive sim, and horror is back. Immerse yourself in the intricately detailed open world, accompanied by next-gen graphics (courtesy of the Unreal 5 engine) and a rich narrative, all enveloped within the intense atmosphere of a deadly adventure." The game seems to be getting a positive reception at Gamescom, although players were limited to only 15-minute long hands-on sessions with the demo. A few folks were already familiar with aspects of this preview version—a hacker group acquired an older build of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 earlier this year, and leaked it onto the internet.

GSC Game World has released a defiant statement, in the face of threats of ransomed S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 data. It provides an update about one of its employee's accounts being compromised by hackers, and as a result of this, the studio is now threatened with blackmail. A statement was posted, March 12, on the GSC Game World's official Twitter account. The developer is urging that fans refrain from sharing leaked material and spoilers, and warns that the final product should not be pre-judged in a harsh light, based on any of the leaked work-in-progress material.

It is not unusual for hacker groups to threaten game developers and publishers. Rockstar Games was the victim of a leak in 2022, when videos of its in-development and upcoming video game Grand Theft Auto 6 were uploaded to forums. The in-game footage was spread across social media and the internet, and shortly thereafter, a hacker wanted to "negotiate a deal" with Rockstar Games. Source code for GTA 5 & 6 was used as leverage.