S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 Devs Tease Potential Hardcore Mode

It seems that S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl may eventually receive a hardcore mode. Some players have requested a more realistic survival experience in the Zone — and the developers appear to be listening.

On the official Discord server, fans asked for a hardcore mode that would disable the HUD, increase overall difficulty, remove assistive features such as audio cues, reduce loot availability, and more. GSC Game World hinted that such a mode might be added in the future. They noted that some developers already play the game without a HUD for the challenge. However, the studio emphasized that it's still too early to say whether the idea will move forward: "So, let’s see that atm the answer is ‘NDA’, good old classic."

Recently, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 received a major 1.5 update, which added lootable mutant corpses, new weapons, modding tools, and more. The developers also warned players about which mods could break the game following the patch.