STALZONE review

This STALZONE review is based on official sources and player reviews, not on our own play time. EXBO's PvPvE extraction shooter, renamed from STALCRAFT: X, is free on Windows through Steam, the Epic Games Store and the EXBO launcher. It is set in a persistent online version of the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone with a story campaign of more than 50 hours, and no mode turns PvP off. The in-game shop sells Stalcoin packs with Season Pass levels, plus random cases.

What is STALZONE?

STALZONE is a free-to-play online shooter developed and published by EXBO. Until recently it was called STALCRAFT: X; the official site says the old name no longer described the game and created legal risks, and that the project grew out of a game started in 2013. On Steam it has been listed since December 9, 2022.

EXBO calls it an extraction shooter that plays like an MMO. You explore an anomaly-filled Chernobyl Exclusion Zone split between rival factions. You keep your gear and long-term progress, but the loot you find is at risk until you bring it back. There are no progression wipes, NPCs and factions fight over territory, and players trade on a player-driven market. Squads hold up to five players, and proximity voice chat is built in.

The Steam page lists more than 200 weapons and a story campaign of 50-plus hours. Other modes include Coliseum, a PvP mode added on July 22, 2026, ranked Subdivision Battles for player groups and session battles. The Festivity event, a five-player PvPvE arena mode, went live with the October 28, 2026 patch.

Is STALZONE free to play?

Yes. The official site's button reads "Play for free," and Steam and the Epic Games Store both list STALZONE as free. The Epic FAQ says the game can be played without any in-app purchases and that all purchases are optional.

According to the Steam page, everything can be earned in the game, and even paid skins and boosters can be bought from other players on the player-driven market. The Season Pass fills up through daily tasks in five categories; an EXBO support article says most players can gain about eight levels a day. Overdrives, which add Season Pass points, come from Season Pass rewards, daily logins, promo codes and the auction as well as the shop.

Events also hand out shop items. The Festivity challenge list published for the test server includes Fishie Crates, Overdrives and three days of Premium, and the October 29 Twitch Drops campaign gives containers and cosmetics for watching partner streams.

Is STALZONE pay to win? What money buys

The paid currency is Stalcoins. Per EXBO support, you top up in the in-game shop through Steam or Xsolla, or on the official site.

The September 2, 2026 patch added a chain of shop packs containing Season Pass levels, Overdrives, Fishie Crates and paints; the Coliseum Champion pack adds 15 Season Pass levels and 25 Coliseum tokens. A support article also lists tradable Season Pass levels at 109 SC for one, 1,039 SC for 10 and 2,299 SC for 25. Those levels matter because the fall 2026 Season Pass rewards include the OTs-62 and ALK-22 Dragonfly, the Ratcatcher Exoarmor and the Capper sniper rifle, whose charged shot EXBO compares to the Gauss Rifle. Double Rating tokens for ranked play and Quasi-Destructors can also be bought with Stalcoins.

Random items are sold too. The Advanced Case is in the game shop with chances that carry over between seasons, and the Epic rating notes in-game purchases that include random items. No official odds page was found.

EXBO says monetization focuses on cosmetics and optional progression support, and that matchmaking pairs players of similar power.

Based on what the official stores sell, we rate it as strongly pay to win; we will check this again when we play it ourselves.

STALZONE on PC, Mac, consoles and mobile

STALZONE is a Windows PC game. There are three official ways to install it: Steam, the Epic Games Store and the EXBO Launcher. EXBO's support guide describes the launcher route: use the Play for free button on stalzone.com, download the launcher, log in with an EXBO account, then install the game. You can also sign in to EXBO with a Steam account.

Steam lists only 64-bit Windows 10 and 11. The official pages do not mention a Mac, Linux, console or mobile version, so a STALZONE for PlayStation, Xbox or phones does not exist at the moment.

The game is online only. EXBO's support center says plainly that there is no single-player mode and no passive mode that disables PvP, and that none is planned. Steam lists English, Russian, Spanish, French and Korean, with full audio in Russian. EXBO also runs an open test server for upcoming changes, which it recommends entering through the EXBO Launcher even if you normally play on Steam.

STALZONE system requirements

EXBO's support site and Steam list the same basic requirements, and both recommend an SSD.

Minimum: 64-bit Windows 10 or 11, an Intel Core i3-6100 or AMD Ryzen 3 1200, 4 GB of RAM, an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950 or AMD Radeon RX 560, a broadband connection and 50 GB of storage.

Recommended: 64-bit Windows 10 or 11, an Intel Core i5-7400 or AMD Ryzen 5 1600, 8 GB of RAM, an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 or AMD Radeon RX 580 and 50 GB of storage.

The support site also has an advanced table. For 1440p at Ultra settings it lists an Intel Core i5-8600 or Ryzen 7 1700, 16 GB of RAM and a GTX 1070 or RX 580. For 2160p at Ultra it lists an Intel Core i5-10400 or Ryzen 5 3600, 16 GB of RAM and an RTX 3060 or Radeon RX 6700 XT. Every tier in that table calls for 50 GB on an SSD.

Games like STALZONE

These shooters from our catalog share parts of STALZONE's setup, from extraction raids to a Chernobyl setting:

Delta Force: Team Jade's free tactical shooter, whose Operations mode is an extraction PvPvE mode, on Windows, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, iOS and Android.

Once Human: Starry Studio's free survival game published by NetEase Games, with PvE and PvP scenarios, on PC since July 2024 and also on mobile and consoles.

Chernobylite: The Farm 51's single-player survival horror RPG set in a 3D-scanned Chernobyl Exclusion Zone; unlike STALZONE it is a paid game, sold on Steam as the Complete Edition for $29.99.

Of the three, only Delta Force pairs extraction raids with PvP the way STALZONE does.

• Delta Force
• Once Human
• Chernobylite