Stalker 2 has faction wars now: Enemies 'can expand control over new territories' in its 1.7 jumbo patch that also adds mega-hard mode and makes hiding in bushes meaningful

Just three days out from Stalker 2's first birthday (doesn't time fly?) GSC Game World has released another meaty patch for its unique, ambitious, and at times conflagrating shooter. Patch 1.7 is a doozy—you can tell because it's one of those patches a developer puts out a video to mark—and it's out now.

There are a few significant tweaks here, but the things that stand out to me are: yet more fixes for the game's A-Life system and a whole new difficulty. That's in descending order of importance, so far as I'm concerned.