STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl drops Update 1.9 with free DLC Sealed Truth, new load screens, and bug fixes ahead of the first major DLC Cost of Hope's Summer 2026 release.
STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl Free DLC Sealed Truth Adds New Quest
Diode Opens the Doors to X18 Lab
STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl’s Sealed Truth DLC is available now, adding a new quest that explores the X-18 Lab, alongside Update 1.9. Players can access the DLC through Diode at the Slag Heap after completing the main quest "Hot on the Trail" and only before starting the main quest "A Minor Incident." Players who have already started the latter quest cannot access the new quest, and there is currently no way to access the DLC with a post-A Minor Incident save file.
X-18 Lab is a rework of Lab X-18 from the first installment in the STALKER series, STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl. In this new DLC, players return to the X-18 Lab, now able to enter the previously inaccessible deeper levels of the lab through a quest from Diode.
Long-time players of the series have enjoyed the new questline, calling the DLC "short but nostalgic." Some, however, are unhappy that the DLC is progress-locked and are hesitant to restart hundreds of hours of gameplay just to access new content.
Many have expressed their disappointment on social media at the developers’ lack of prior notice that the DLC will be unavailable after doing a certain quest, and hope the game’s future DLCs will not follow this format.
Update 1.9 also features new load screens and bug fixes for the overpopulation of strong mutant types in long campaigns and the "Dark as a Dungeon" quest cancelling after a player reaches the point of no return. Since the update, players have noticed a smaller anomaly radius, making it easier to interact with artifacts. PDA animations are also notably smoother, with frame drops and clipping issues fixed.
Cost of Hope DLC Coming in Summer 2026
The free DLC comes just months before the summer release of the game’s first major DLC, Cost of Hope. Announced at the March 2026 Xbox Partner Preview, Cost of Hope promises dozens of hours of gameplay and long-awaited access to two new locations: The Iron Forest and the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant.
STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl’s first major DLC, Cost of Hope, will be available on PC (Steam, Epic Games, GOG, Microsoft Store), PlayStation 5, and Xbox XIS. Official release dates and times are yet to be revealed. To stay updated, check out our article below.
Source:
Official STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl Website
