After spending a year as an Early Access title, Daybreak Games' zombie MMO H1Z1 will be coming to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One this summer while the PC version is getting split into two games.
Aside from occasional development updates, not much news has been released about Daybreak Games' zombie MMO H1Z1 after its Early Access launch in January 2015. After months of relative silence, the developer broke their silence today and announced that H1Z1 will be headed to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One this summer, while the PC version will be split into two games, each of which will be sold separately.
The PC version of H1Z1 will become two separate games titled H1Z1: King of the Hill and H1Z1: Just Survive. Each game will be distinctly different from one other. King of the Hill is described as a "large-scale, high-intensity" multiplayer shooter that will comprise of a variety of fight-to-the-death game modes, while Just Survive is the regular H1Z1 open-world zombie survival game.
According to Daybreak Games' chief publishing officer Laura Naviaux, separating H1Z1 into two games was what gamers wanted. She explained that it became clear to Daybreak that people were playing the game in two distinct ways, so splitting the game up would better serve both audiences.
"They have completely different communities that have different needs, desires, and wants, and we really want to be able to cater and grow the games to be able to nurture both of those players bases distinctly. After a lot of thought, we came to the conclusion that we should really split these games into two different products and the player community had actually asked us to do that."
This split will happen on February 17 and both titles will launch on PC through Steam Early Access for $20 each. For current H1Z1 owners or gamers who buy H1Z1 on or before February 16, they'll get both games when they are separated. Current H1Z1 players who are wondering what will happen to their items, they will be replicated across both Just Survive and King of the Hill.
After a troubled Early Access launch last year, H1Z1 has had its share of subsequent teething problems. Controversy arose when gamers discovered a pay-to-win feature despite Daybreak Games assuring fans there won't be pay-to-win in any way. This was subsequently followed by the banning of over 24,000 H1Z1 players for cheating. But while some Early Access games never make it to release, it appears that there is light at the end of the tunnel for this zombie MMO.
H1Z1: Just Survive and H1Z1: King of the Hill will launch on Steam Early Access for PC on February 17, 2016. H1Z1: Just Survive doesn't currently have an official release date while H1Z1: King of the Hill will come out of Early Access and launch in Summer 2016 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.
Source: GameSpot