S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat, the 3rd stand-alone game in the series, unfolds shortly after the end of S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl. Having discovered about the open path to the Zone center, the government decides to hold a large-scale military "Fairway" operation aimed to take the CNPP under control.