S.T.A.L.K.E.R in April 06 or later

By Tom Bramwell Published 4 August, 2005

This year's a bit congested.

Publisher THQ has confirmed reports that GSC Gameworld's toxic PC first-person shooter S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl will not be released until April 2006 at the earliest.

The game's been delayed a number of times, but THQ wants to give it the best chance possible and clearly sees the idea of pushing it for late 2005 - which is going to be a crowded period, to say the least - as counterproductive.

"We think that's going to be a ground breaking title when we launch it and we want to make sure there's enough time in the oven for it," boss-man Brian Farrell said. "We want to make sure it has the absolute highest possible game quality," he added, rather boringly.

The result is that THQ doesn't expect to ship it in its current (2006) fiscal year, which ends on March 31st.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R, unveiled some years ago, is set in the ruins around Russia's most famous nuclear facility, where lots of mutant nasties have risen to prominence. Visually, it's been looking mighty special whenever we've seen it, but understandably it's starting to look less and less groundbreaking with each passing year. We still have high hopes for it, however; and we'll let you know when we hear something concrete. Something concrete surrounding Chernobyl - there's a novel concept.

Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (20) Latest comment 7 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Hicksy #1 7 years ago

    *rolls eyes*

    Was hoping this would be this year : (

    bah! longest Play pre-order EVAR!

    2yrs!!! O_O

  • ralphwolfenstein #2 7 years ago

    Visually, it's been looking mighty special whenever we've seen it, but understandably it's starting to look less and less groundbreaking with each passing year.

    Someone hasn't watched the GDC DX9 video then...

    Oh, and only 2 yrs you say?... talk about jumping on the bandwagon

  • fox #3 7 years ago

    OMFG :S

  • Furbs #4 7 years ago

    Hahahahahah!
    Yeah alright then...

  • jumpdeveraux #5 7 years ago

    /turns over hourglass

  • UncleLou #6 7 years ago

    The latest trailer really looks pretty excellent. Whatever problems the game might have, it won't be the graphics. Ligthning at night casting real-time shadows everywhere - yummy.

  • Universal_Hamster #7 7 years ago

    Didnt they say EXACTLY the same thing last year?

  • Darren #8 7 years ago

    I might as well cancel my pre-order then...

  • m2h #9 7 years ago

    Played the alpha, I was quite impressed by the size of the enviroments. Something you still don't see in blockbuster fps these days. I'll take a slight hit in graphic proweress for less loading screens. :p Plus by the time it hits the streets, my crappy 5200 should be still happy. :p

  • Wash #10 7 years ago

    "it won't be the graphics. Ligthning at night casting real-time shadows everywhere - yummy."

    Will we be still saying that in a years time?

  • Whizzo #11 7 years ago

    bah! longest Play pre-order EVAR!

    Yeah but at least it's only £18 and it raises a smile whenever I see it in my outstanding items list when I buy something...

  • thebuzzard #12 7 years ago

    Well Doom 3 and HL2 were much delayed and still very visually impressive when released. Hopefully this will be the same.

  • tiddles #13 7 years ago

    Duke Nukem Chernobyl?

  • Rahul #14 7 years ago

    This game's taking longer than Final Fantasy XII! :(

  • Hicksy #15 7 years ago

    This is true £18 is nothing to moan aboot :p

  • DarkTimes #16 7 years ago

    THQ should be applauded really for having the guts to delay the game until it's actually finished. If STALKER is as clever and complex as everyone seems to think then I'd much rather a long wait and a great game, than a unfinished mess shipped early to appease quarterly sales figures.
    Edited by 1 at 04/08/05 @ 13:48

  • ave #17 7 years ago

    ive been bored of waiting for 18 months, I liked the concept "original" game better, before they turned it into graphics showcase vapourware.

  • UncleLou #18 7 years ago

    "it won't be the graphics. Ligthning at night casting real-time shadows everywhere - yummy."

    Will we be still saying that in a years time?

    There's no way the game will look dated in a year. It's definitely in Doom 3/HL2 territory (if not above that when you consider it will have larger levels). It won't wow us as it would have 2 years ago, but it will most probably still be a brilliant looking game.

    Really, there's a lot to be concerned about, but the graphics are on the bottom of my worries.

  • lasersrule #19 7 years ago

    Are there any actual single-player gameplay vids yet?

    I've seen a couple of okay-looking clips and some in-engine cinematics, but they don't really show anything of the gameplay's quality... What's worse, the multiplayer footage I've seen made it look a little bit rubbish.

    Don't forget, the last game these fellas worked on was Codename Outbreak. That hardly set the PC world alight...

  • smelliot #20 7 years ago

    Hurry up, please. I've been waiting for this since 2003. I almost feel like a Duke Nukem Forever fan.
    Edited by 1 at 04/08/05 @ 19:02