As its release on PlayStation 5 approaches, STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl is getting a major update. Deployed on November 18, 2025, patch 1.7, called “Expedition”, introduces a new game mode, a new difficulty level, as well as a vast set of fixes and optimizations.
Among the major additions, we find the Shipping modedesigned to offer deeper immersion than ever before, as well as a new difficulty level “Master” for the most seasoned players. THE immersive modewhich replaces the old photo mode, allows you to experience the game world without a visible interface, reinforcing the narrative and visual aspect.
The game’s artificial intelligence, named A-Lifehas been redesigned: battles between factions are now better managed, enemies more reactive, and combat more dynamic. Even the behavior of the protagonist Skif evolves, notably via new effects linked to the consumption of certain drinks.
Hundreds of bugs fixed and better ergonomics
Update 1.7 also targets stability. Over 90 crashes have been fixed, and players reporting issues with screen freezes, animation inconsistencies, or blocking bugs on main quests should see their experience significantly improved.
The patch also brings user interface improvementsa optimization of controller controlsand the support for DualSense features for future PS5 players. Aiming assistance has been reworked, the inventory redesigned, and new icons appear on the map to indicate partially looted caches.
Two new anomalies have also been introduced, making the areas to explore more dangerous and unpredictable. The developers specified that certain mechanics such as infiltration or detection by enemies have been refined to offer more fluid and credible gameplay.
A more lively world, better-paced missions
On the open world side, visual improvements were brought to several regions such as Scorcher, RostokTHE Cord or even the chemical zone. New weather variations, such as light rainenrich the already heavy atmosphere of the game. The GSC Game World team has also taken care of the entertainment : weapon reloads, behavior of mutants when they die, NPC movements, everything has been polished.
Many main and secondary missions have been adjusted to resolve progression bugs or dialog inconsistencies. The studio specifies that it has also improved performance during cutscenes, reduced memory consumption in certain areas and optimized the effects linked to anomalies.
Finally, on the localization side, dozens of errors and shifts between voices and subtitles have been corrected in the different supported languages, including French.