It looks like Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl is set to leave Xbox Game Pass this month, exactly one year after it first launched.
- READ MORE: ‘Stalker 2: Heart Of Chornobyl’ review: an apocalyptic thriller you won’t want to put down
After being delayed several times, Stalker 2: Heart Of Chornobyl was finally released November 20, 2024 for Xbox Series X/S and PC. It was also a Day One launch for Xbox Game Pass subscribers, but players had to deal with a number of game-breaking bugs.
“Stalker 2 is a massive game. We understand that in such a game, there may still be rough edges: we literally haven’t released anything of this scale before. We’re absolutely committed to being here, monitoring your feedback, and quickly fixing any issues that need our attention,” said developers. Hotfixes were released in the days after Stalker 2’s launch before larger updates were implemented over the past twelve months.
The fixes come just in time for the PlayStation 5 version of Stalker 2, which is set to launch later this month. However Xbox Game Pass subscribers are annoyed that the game is set to leave the service on November 15.
STALKER 2 got announced in 2020 at the Xbox Showcase in August.
STALKER 2 took 4 years to develop beyond announcement and officially dropped in November 2024.
STALKER 2 will leave Xbox Game Pass in November 2025.
I think it’s a really bad precedent that a game stays shorter in… https://t.co/TZg486uoeg
— Kloot (@ZakkenKloot) November 2, 2025
“It’s such a shame. I was waiting for the game to be fixed before playing it again & don’t really fancy gambling a purchase now, even if it is good,” wrote one fan on Reddit. “Yeah, that’s bullshit, Microsoft teased the game everywhere as a core game from game pass, then it released in such outrageously shitty state, and as soon as some of major issues are more or less fixed they’re leaving Game Pass. That’s like literally the biggest beta test we’ve ever seen lmao, you even need to purchase a game after you’ve tested it,” another.
