will pre-load be availible before launch?

[El_Verdugo]

since it is quite a big game to download i wanted to know if a preload will be a thing

EDIT: confirmed by GSC we wont have preload F

[Rootbeer Safety Team]

Surprisingly. They confirmed there will not be an option to early load on pc

[Lafettie]

Originally posted by El_Verdugo:

since it is quite a big game to download i wanted to know if a preload will be a thing

Well for People ordering on the Microsoft Store pre loading is already available.

[Touko_Yuu]

Originally posted by Kastrenzo:

details will be announced soon. Probably no later than November 17. *72 hours before launch*

this is not an official word, just speculation based on past experience, Also Pre-load is apparentely already active on Xbox



also, I would personally be cautious with steam pre-load to begin with. Its been a long time since I've done so, but I've personally never bothered with them because how they work, is they download 100+ GB of encrypted files which sometimes take longer to decrpyt on launch day, than it would take to just download from scratch.

Or maybe I was just having a bad day, then. Maybe it was a one-off

Depends on your hardware and internet speed. My network speed is only 50 Mbps, but I have a very beefy PC with a Ryzen 7 7800X3D CPU and 32 gigs of fast RAM, so decrypting a game would be a whole lot faster for me than spending a whole day, if not more, to download a 150GB game.

[El_Verdugo]

Originally posted by Lafettie:

Originally posted by El_Verdugo:

since it is quite a big game to download i wanted to know if a preload will be a thing

Well for People ordering on the Microsoft Store pre loading is already available.

well it sucks me then i own the game on steam only

[Derivat949]

Originally posted by Kastrenzo:

details will be announced soon. Probably no later than November 17. *72 hours before launch*

this is not an official word, just speculation based on past experience, Also Pre-load is apparentely already active on Xbox



also, I would personally be cautious with steam pre-load to begin with. Its been a long time since I've done so, but I've personally never bothered with them because how they work, is they download 100+ GB of encrypted files which sometimes take longer to decrpyt on launch day, than it would take to just download from scratch.

Or maybe I was just having a bad day, then. Maybe it was a one-off

That is very internet and PC dependent. I only get 70-80 Mbit/s DL speed on a good day (this is actually the fastet internet speed available for my address, yay Germany!), while I have a bunch of Samsung 980 Pros and a i7-12700KF, which makes preloading the vastly faster option.
If I had to download the whole game when I get home from work (in case it releases in the evening/afternoon) I wouldn't be able to play that day at all.

[MacAttack]

Originally posted by Kastrenzo:

details will be announced soon. Probably no later than November 17. *72 hours before launch*

this is not an official word, just speculation based on past experience, Also Pre-load is apparentely already active on Xbox



also, I would personally be cautious with steam pre-load to begin with. Its been a long time since I've done so, but I've personally never bothered with them because how they work, is they download 100+ GB of encrypted files which sometimes take longer to decrpyt on launch day, than it would take to just download from scratch.

Or maybe I was just having a bad day, then. Maybe it was a one-off

Pre-loading will only be slower when it comes time to decrypt the files and you have a slower CPU and hard drive. Any modern CPU and SSD made in the last 5 years shouldn't have a problem decrypting the files fast.

My PC is running a i7 12700k paired with a Samsung 970 EVO Plus and RTX 3070 and I can decrypt 80, 90, and 100+ GB games in 5-8 mintues, whereas my 1Gb fiber will download in 45min to 1hr if its 100+ GB. Still fast, but the decryption is faster. So for me, pre-loading wins out. I can download early and have the game ready to go and all I need is about 10min to decrypt and I am ready to play. Also, consider how launch day might go.

Even though Steam has a robust backend to prevent network interruptions, servers could crash and then you can't download at all or it will get kneecapped until the traffic subsides. My guess is STALKER 2 will be a popular launch day title even during mid-week on a Wednesday. It could happen, and this is exactly why I appreciate pre-loads.

It's unfortunate that some people can't take advantage of pre-loads if their PCs are not fast enough to produce a reasonable decryption time. Just plan for whatever will be faster for you and you'll be good (and hope the servers hold out when the mass downloads come lol).

[ZagaL'A+]

Just have Patiance.. :)

[Blood of Kerensky]

Why does everyone need to open a new discussion for this? We have this question THRICE on the first page? Do you feel extra special that you need to have everyone reply to this again?

[LunarGatta]

Originally posted by Kastrenzo:

details will be announced soon. Probably no later than November 17. *72 hours before launch*

this is not an official word, just speculation based on past experience, Also Pre-load is apparentely already active on Xbox



also, I would personally be cautious with steam pre-load to begin with. Its been a long time since I've done so, but I've personally never bothered with them because how they work, is they download 100+ GB of encrypted files which sometimes take longer to decrpyt on launch day, than it would take to just download from scratch.

Or maybe I was just having a bad day, then. Maybe it was a one-off

This is largely correct. The only thing I would recommend to you for clarification is that pre-loading is bad if your PC is bad, e.g old CPU and HDD.

Modern SSDs and a modern CPU can decrypt faster than any download you'll make unless your internet speed is provided by NASA.

[Sorata]

Preload at 146.58GB already up on xbox.

[Foreign_Agent]

Originally posted by Touko_Yuu:

Originally posted by Kastrenzo:

details will be announced soon. Probably no later than November 17. *72 hours before launch*

this is not an official word, just speculation based on past experience, Also Pre-load is apparentely already active on Xbox



also, I would personally be cautious with steam pre-load to begin with. Its been a long time since I've done so, but I've personally never bothered with them because how they work, is they download 100+ GB of encrypted files which sometimes take longer to decrpyt on launch day, than it would take to just download from scratch.

Or maybe I was just having a bad day, then. Maybe it was a one-off

Depends on your hardware and internet speed. My network speed is only 50 Mbps, but I have a very beefy PC with a Ryzen 7 7800X3D CPU and 32 gigs of fast RAM, so decrypting a game would be a whole lot faster for me than spending a whole day, if not more, to download a 150GB game.

My speed is 1000 Mbps. But I'm afraid that the STEAM servers will be overloaded.

[El_Verdugo]

Originally posted by Blood of Kerensky:

Why does everyone need to open a new discussion for this? We have this question THRICE on the first page? Do you feel extra special that you need to have everyone reply to this again?

chill bro

[Viewbob]

Originally posted by Kastrenzo:

details will be announced soon. Probably no later than November 17. *72 hours before launch*

this is not an official word, just speculation based on past experience, Also Pre-load is apparentely already active on Xbox



also, I would personally be cautious with steam pre-load to begin with. Its been a long time since I've done so, but I've personally never bothered with them because how they work, is they download 100+ GB of encrypted files which sometimes take longer to decrpyt on launch day, than it would take to just download from scratch.

Or maybe I was just having a bad day, then. Maybe it was a one-off

games on pc not having preload is so prehistoric...

[LunarGatta]

Originally posted by AssFat:

Originally posted by Viewbob:

games on pc not having preload is so prehistoric...

welcome to the wonderful world of GSC.

Bruh, Xbox can already preload but not install, Steam will likely be able to preload within 48 hours of release.

The overwhelming majority of steam games that you can pre-order enable preloading between 24 to 48 hours away from official release date.

[SirHampi]

i hope on preload im in the phillipin at the moment and the download rate ar bad