“Make your way through the gloomy, anomaly-ridden labyrinth of the Iron Forest—a hostile place for stalkers that will truly put your skills to the test. Explore the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant and discover what lies hidden inside the buildings, machine rooms, and administrative buildings frozen in time,”—this is the message Ukrainian studio GSC Game World included with the new trailer for the first story expansion for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl — Cost of Hope.
In the new trailer, the developers focused primarily on showcasing gameplay and new locations. As previously reported, players will gain access to the Iron Forest and the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant, which will serve as key locations in the expansion.
The trailer also showcases the search for new artifacts, navigating through dangerous anomalies, and surviving with the help of familiar series elements—in particular, the “NON STOP” energy that allows the protagonist to regain strength. Additionally, the trailer features new encounters with fighters from the “Monolith” faction.
GSC Game World paid special attention to Ukrainian details. In the footage, you can spot stained-glass windows featuring the Ukrainian flag and other national elements, once again emphasizing that the game’s events take place in Ukraine.
There are just a few weeks left until the expansion is released
As a reminder, the first major story expansion for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl—”Cost of Hope”—will be released on August 20, 2026, for PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5. You can add the DLC to your wishlist right now, and there’s not long to wait. So far, GSC Game World has not announced any changes to the release schedule, so the game is expected to launch on the planned date.
The Ukrainian studio GSC Game World, owned by entrepreneur Maksym Krippa, continues to actively respond to community feedback. Along with regular support patches, the developers are also preparing the game’s largest free update.
Along with the release of Cost of Hope, the studio will launch Update 2.0 for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl. It will migrate the game to a newer version of the Unreal Engine 5 and bring a massive set of improvements, fixes, and new content. The update will be free for all owners of the game.
GSC Game World has promised to reveal more details about both the Cost of Hope expansion and Update 2.0 in the near future.
So load your weapons, stalkers—the mutants are already on the prowl.