In preparation for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl, which will arrive next month, MSI has created a new Nvidia graphics card aimed squarely at Stalker gamers. Discovered by momomo_us on X, MSI has built a S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl-themed RTX 4070 Ti Super Gaming Slim, decked out in a nuclear apocalypse color scheme.
This RTX 4070 Ti Super is a re-skinned version of MSI's RTX 4070 Ti Super Gaming X Slim. The card features a mixture of military green, matte black, and yellow accents paired with S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl graphics on two of the fan hubs. Wear marks on the shroud make the card appear to have lived in Chornobyl's environment.
The backplate shares many characteristics with the shroud, primarily featuring wear marks all over the plate itself. The only aspects of the card that have not changed are the heatsink and the side part of the sleeve, which maintain the same color scheme as the original (silver and matte black paired with an RGB MSI logo). The card also has a S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl-themed PCIe support bracket.
It remains a mystery if this card will sport any clock speed changes compared to its standard Gaming X Slim counterpart. Normally, these types of specialized cards only feature a color scheme change and come with the same specs as their standardized counterparts. This might not be the case, though. We'll have to wait for official specifications to get published.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl is the sequel to S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Shadow of Chernobyl, which debuted in 2007. The new game takes place after the events of the first game, specifically after the second massive explosion in 2006 (in the game's storyline).
The new game is powered by Unreal Engine 5 and features an open 64km world for the player to explore. The gameplay is advertised as a blend of FPS, horror, and immersive sim, combined with a non-linear story with several endings depending on the player's chosen paths during the campaign. The story surrounds a sci-fi-themed tale inspired by the real Chornobyl disaster, featuring a variety of artificial (mutant) enemies.
For more details, a one-and-a-half-hour documentary on the creation of the second Stalker game is available for viewing. It gives significant insight into the game's design.