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What the Most Wanted ranking recognized
The PC Gaming Show selected 25 upcoming PC games for its Most Wanted list. The ranking was chosen by The Council, described by PC Gamer as a group of 70 industry professionals, critics, and influencers. Its named members included game designers Sid Meier, Tim Schafer, and Brenda Romero. PC Gamer’s 2023 coverage explains the Council and the list.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 Heart of Chornobyl - PC | $62.58 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
|
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. - Shadow of Chernobyl Bd. 2: Inferno (Der offizielle Roman zum PC-Horror-Game) | $91.25 | Buy on Amazon |
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 ranked first. GamesBeat also reported that Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree and Hades II followed it in the list. The selection spanned multiple genres, making it a broad anticipation ranking rather than a genre-specific award. Neither the coverage nor the ranking establishes voting totals or a scoring method, and the placements do not measure sales, reviews, or eventual performance. GamesBeat’s report records the top entries.
Why the award was not a 2024 game-of-the-year prize
The show announced its ranking on November 30, 2023, before the year it looked ahead to and before the game’s release. It recognized the game as the most wanted upcoming PC title for 2024; it did not name the best game released in 2024. PC Gamer and GamesBeat covered the announcement at the time.
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#1 Best Overall
- Gameplay combining FPS, horror and immersive simulator
- Nonlinear history with various paths leading to its multiple endings
- Cutting-edge graphics developed with the latest photogrammetric and scanning technology
- AI systems that will keep even the most seasoned gamers on track
- Dynamic day and night and weather cycle gives even more realism to the gameplay experience
What S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 is
The full title is S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl, developed by GSC Game World. The game is set in the post-apocalyptic Chornobyl Exclusion Zone, according to its official website. At the event, GSC presented a story trailer, and CEO and game director Evgeniy Grygorovych spoke to fans after the recognition, GamesBeat reported.
Grygorovych’s comments on the game
Grygorovych described the project’s meaning to the studio this way: “Stalker 2 was important for us even before the war, but now it stands as a national product aiming to convey Ukraine’s unbreakable spirit to the world.” This is his characterization of the game and its purpose, not an independently verified statement about national representation. PC Gamer also quoted him calling the award “a symbol of your unbreakable trust.” GamesBeat and PC Gamer reported his remarks.
Rank #2
What the announcement said about the release date
GamesBeat’s December 1, 2023 report said the game was then expected sometime in Q1 2024. That was a forecast made in 2023, not a current release-date statement. The official site’s indexed description does not establish current release, patch, platform, edition, or compatibility details; consult GSC’s current official listing for those specifics.
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