S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl has just rolled out its 1.5 Patch, bringing numerous refinements and fixes. But the real headline is GSC Game World's inaugural phase of modding tools, which comes with... substantial storage requirements.
"Customize the Zone to Your Vision with the Stalker 2 Zone Kit," announced GSC Game World. "Adapt existing elements or craft entirely new experiences – from animations and weaponry to gameplay mechanics and Zone anomalies."
Sounds impressive? Absolutely – provided you have approximately 700GB of available storage... on top of the 160GB needed for the core game installation.
GSC explains this substantial footprint stems from their collaboration with modders, providing uncompressed source files to ensure mod creators work with original, high-quality assets.
"The mod kit's size reflects our decision to supply uncompressed in-game assets to the modding community," GSC told PC Gamer. "Given the game's scale and asset quantity, this results in a significant download. As this represents Phase One of the Zone Kit, we'll investigate potential optimizations moving forward."
A community representative elaborated on Reddit: "We're releasing the Zone Kit incrementally to develop it in partnership with mod creators. While already feature-rich, this is just Phase One – future updates will expand the toolkit's capabilities."
In our S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl review (rated 8/10), we noted: "Beneath its technical challenges lies something extraordinary – a relentlessly atmospheric shooter that demands your attention throughout its grueling, unforgettable journey." Learn more about how S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 transformed the studio during Ukraine's full-scale invasion.
