S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl, the long-awaited sequel to the award-winning S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chornobyl video game from Ukrainian studio GSC Game World, takes players back to the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone in a gripping post-apocalyptic adventure. Combining elements of first-person shooting, survival horror, and immersive simulation, the game builds on the iconic series' legacy with a fresh, modern take.
Initially announced in 2010 and slated for release in 2022, the game's journey to launch was marked by multiple delays. Now, after years of anticipation, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 finally arrived on Nov. 20, 2024, captivating fans on PC and Xbox as they had been waiting 14 years for its release.
In the months leading up to the launch, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 consistently ranked among the most anticipated games and dominated sales charts in recent weeks.
Demand to access the game was overwhelming. Within hours of its release, the game reached a peak of 113,500 concurrent players, SteamDB said. The surge caused Ukrainian internet providers to struggle with the increased traffic.
Ukrainian internet providers such as Tenet (Odesa), Triolan (Kharkiv), Astra (Lviv), Lanet, Nashnet, Vodafone, and others reported connectivity issues directly linked to the game’s release.
“S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 caused a real anomaly,” Odesa-based provider Tenet wrote.
“Traffic more than doubled. The reason: the release of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 and a spike in internet demand,” Vodafone noted.
The strain wasn’t just from the 140 GB game downloads. Many players started streaming their gameplay immediately after the launch, adding to the network congestion.
“Peak traffic hit 624.7 Gbps — much higher than usual," said Lanet.
"This is just the beginning, as hundreds of thousands of stalkers rushed to the Zone simultaneously: downloading the game, streaming their adventures, and hosting marathons.”
Several providers reassured users that similar issues were being experienced nationwide and promised the situation will stabilize.