It looked for a while there like it was end of the line for the STALKER franchise, as developers GSC Game World were on the brink of going out of business
https://kotaku.com/could-this-be-the-end-of-gsc-game-world-and-s-t-a-l-k-e-5866779
That was 2011, though! In 2012, the studio’s Facebook page has just let the world know that “we are continuing work on Stalker 2 after the holidays”.
Fans of bleak post-apocalyptic Eastern Bloc shooters, get happy!
Official S.T.A.L.K.E.R. [Facebook]
