S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 Devs Celebrate 6M Players Amid Engagement Drop

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl has reached an impressive milestone, with six million players venturing into the Zone. The developers shared the news on X, thanking users for their immense support. Six million, they conceded, is a staggering number, and they expressed gratitude to the community for making such an accomplishment possible. But in recent weeks, the game has seen a steep decline in player activity.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 Hits 6 Million Players, But Engagement Drops Sharply Since Launch

The game, which launched in November 2024, had a peak of 121,000 concurrent players on Steam. And now just two months later, we have a massive drop, with 8,161 peak players in the last 24-hour period. The weekly highs have barely crossed the threshold of 11,000 players. This isn’t totally uncommon in single-player story-centric games, where players beat the main campaign and don’t come back for long stretches at a time.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 isn’t the only big-name release to fall victim to this pattern. Bethesda’s Starfield, which launched with 330,000 concurrent players, is now down to a few thousand active users. While multiplayer and live-service games can maintain player activity through continued updates, single-player games tend to see a fast drop-off of activity once they’re launched. Last year, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 had its commercial success, even if the active players are no longer there.

Back in February, GSC Game World’s founder Serhiy Hryhorovych confirmed that the game had already recouped its development costs in the first 24 hours of sales. Released in 2015 and never officially revealed budget, the game has been successful in sales. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 stands up even with the best releases of this past year. While player numbers may dwindle, the game’s impact is undeniable. The studio’s achievement in reaching six million players is a testament to the franchise’s dedicated fanbase and the excitement surrounding the game’s return.

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