The zombie survival game H1Z1 has been on Steam’s Early Access program since January 2015. Development is still ongoing, but big changes are on the way. The latest announcement will see the original game split into two titles.
For those who enjoy the game’s open-world and survival aspects, you’ll play the new H1Z1: Just Survive. It will include the same features that attracted fans to the game, such as crafting, scavenging for supplies and building a base. If you prefer the competitive shooting mode, then H1Z1: King of the Kill is for you. This second title will feature multiple combat modes, so instead of fighting to survive in the large H1Z1 world, you just fight in smaller maps along with a group of players.
According to Daybreak Games (the development team for H1Z1) the reason for the split was a realization that the basic game wasn’t enough to fully satisfy players. There were some who purely enjoyed the Survival mode, and there were other players that didn’t play Survival at all and chose to play the Battle Royale game. By splitting H1Z1 into two titles (each game will also have its own development team), players on both sides will get enough development support for their favorite mode.
If you already own the original game, you’ll immediately gain access to both games when the split occurs on February 17, and you’ll still have your items, crates and keys for each game. You can also buy the titles separately for $19.99 each.
Both games are still considered to be in Early Access, but H1Z1: King of the Kill, will finish development faster. The final product will be available on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One sometime this summer.
As for H1Z1: Just Survive, Daybreak Games didn’t have a definitive date for version 1.0. For now, it will continue to be available for PC only, but the developers are thinking about creating a console version in the near future.
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