Night vision devices, a new Anomaly and beautiful women: STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl received a major update Night of the Hunter

Ukrainian studio GSC Game World has released the long-awaited major patch 1.6 for the post-apocalyptic shooter S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl.

Here's What We Know

The update is already available on PC and Xbox and is called Night of the Hunter. It not only improves existing mechanics and fixes bugs, but also adds new mechanics.

The key innovation of the patch is the Night Vision Device (NVD), which has long been requested by players. Stalkers can now move and fight effectively in the dark without relying on a torch.

Other major changes:

• new anomaly "Fireball" - can instantly incinerate a careless stalker or mutant caught in its range;
• weapon displacement and close-range shooting - new combat mechanics make firefights more realistic;
• laser designator;
• the iconic character Gonta is ready to offer new missions;
• new weapon "Drahunka" (Drahunka);
• Female NPCs have received updated face models and improved hairstyles;
• NPCs can now search mutant corpses;
• the contents of stashes have been updated - there will be something useful in them at any stage of the game;
• CPU usage has been improved and edits have been made to the Zone Kit mod editor.

Please note! The developers warn that the update may cause crashes when using mods, and recommend to temporarily disable them.

The main features of the patch are shown in a special trailer:

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl is available on PC, Xbox Series X|S and Game Pass, while the PS5 version will be released on 20 November 2025.

Source: Steam