STALKER 2’s latest update expands its A-Life NPC simulation bubble, seemingly without a scary performance tax

STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl’s 2.1 update lets players extend the range at which its A-Life system simulates and displays roaming NPCs, with related audio changes making distant gunfights easier to hear. The change aims to make the Zone feel more active beyond the player’s immediate surroundings, while the developers warn that settings above Recommended could affect performance, quests or stability.

Testing on a PC with an RTX 4060 at 1080p found average frame rates stayed at 93fps on Recommended and Extended, and fell to 91fps on the higher settings. Results may differ on other hardware, and the test also found that A-Life settings appear to change how far faction markers show through binoculars; Maximum seemed to increase their zoom. Update 2.1 also allows players to travel with roaming stalkers, but only to places already on their patrol routes.