From Press Release:
June 18, 2026 — EXBO today announced that its open-world extraction shooter STALCRAFT: X is being renamed STALZONE. The new name marks a fresh chapter for the game and arrives together with a wave of updates aimed at making the Zone easier to step into, better to look at, and more alive than ever before.
The rebrand is part of a series of major updates EXBO launched in early summer. Along with the new name, the game is receiving changes to its visuals, starting locations and missions, English voiceover, seasonal content, and key gameplay systems.
A new way into the Zone
One of the main changes in the latest updates is a fully reworked early game experience. New players are welcomed with updated starting missions and locations, improved tutorial mechanics, a major rebalance for an improved PvP experience, and a wide range of QoL improvements.
To make the world feel more alive, STALZONE has also introduced constantly changing weather, more dynamic NPC behavior, and chat bubbles above players. Anomalies have received a new visual update as well, while players now have a built-in detector to help identify them.
A new summer storyline
With the summer season, foreign military forces from the United States and South Korea have begun arriving in the Zone, affecting both the game world and its environment. A new storyline will let players dive into this conflict, face a dangerous new enemy, and earn valuable rewards, while new open-world activities will appear across the Northern Zone, including intelligence gathering, supply deliveries, and other field missions. The season’s main reward is the AAC Honey Badger assault rifle, featuring increased damage and reduced range, placing it in a balanced middle ground between submachine guns and assault rifles.
Starting July 4, STALZONE will launch “The Great Zone Rush”, a U.S.-themed event where players push into the frontiers of the Zone, complete a variety of fun challenges, and earn patriotic rewards, including the full American Ranger outfit.
A sharper, more expressive world
The latest updates have delivered a noticeable visual improvement to STALZONE. Characters now feature new face models with emotions and lip-sync for dialogue, making story scenes and conversations more immersive, especially alongside the recently released English voiceover.
EXBO also introduced a new light-source-based lighting system. This update adds proper indoor lighting and a more expressive nighttime visual experience. Campfires, lamps, and other light sources now integrate more naturally into the environment, giving familiar locations a renewed sense of depth even for long-time players who have explored the Zone extensively.
Talk, explore, and compete
Proximity voice chat is rolling out letting nearby players communicate naturally as they explore and survive together. Partial and then full English voiceover with live actors is also coming to the game, covering key NPC dialogue and making the complete story more accessible than ever for English-speaking players.
Later this summer, EXBO plans to further expand STALZONE’s endgame content. The team has already announced a recurring seasonal session-based mode designed as an alternative to clan-focused activities for players who want to make full use of their skill and gear.
Built around the community
Alongside the in-game changes, EXBO has expanded its English-language community presence, including a player Focus Group program that feeds real player insight back into development and a Community Helpers program that rewards the game’s most engaged players. A new media partner program has also launched where streamers, YouTubers, and other content creators may receive exclusive bonuses and income from referrals to the game. Information about the partner program is found here: https://stalcraft.net/media
Quote
“For us, this rebranding is not just a new name or a prettier sign on the door. It marks a much bigger shift for the game, for the team, and for the company as a whole. With STALZONE, we are entering a new stage with clearer positioning, more concrete plans, and a development structure that finally matches the scale of what this project can become. We believe the game deserves a strong future and this change is one of the steps that will help us build it properly,” said ZIV, CEO of EXBO.
Availability
STALZONE is available now on PC via Steam, the Epic Games Store, and direct download from http://stalzone.com/. The Steam page, trailers, and store assets are being updated to reflect the new name and latest content.
Steam: https://store.steampowered.
com/app/1818450 Epic Games Store: https://store.epicgames.com/p/
stalcraft-x-057c4a About EXBO
EXBO is the developer and publisher behind STALZONE (formerly STALCRAFT: X), an online open-world, extraction shooter that plays like an MMO, and the only MMO that plays like an extraction shooter.
EXBO is an independent game development studio with more than 13 years of experience creating a distinctive blend of extraction shooter and MMO. Having built a strong and dedicated player base across CIS countries, EXBO is now focused on expanding its presence on the international market and bringing its unique online world to a global audience.
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