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'H1Z1' has a new name and old mechanics
H1Z1 got somewhat left behind as rival battle royale games like Fortnite, Apex Legends and PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds exploded in popularity over the last year or so. Its player numbers dwindled and the H1Z1 Pro League didn't even finish its first season due to a lack of interest. Back in September, a different development team took over as Daybreak Game Company revealed the title would be renamed Z1 Battle Royale (or Z1BR). The rebranding is now official as of today, as a wealth of updates arrive in a major patch.
'H1Z1' developer Daybreak lays off staff amid restructuring efforts
Unfortunately, Telltale's effective closure wasn't the end of tough times for the game industry. H1Z1 and EverQuest developer Daybreak Game Company has confirmed that it's laying off staff as it's "optimizing [its] structure" for the future. The company didn't say how many people were losing their jobs, but former Daybreak president John Smedley had briefly claimed on Twitter (since absent) that the cuts affected as many as 70 people. There hasn't been confirmation of this number, and he has since deleted the tweet.
The original 'H1Z1' survival game shuts down October 24th
With all the hoopla over battle royale games, it's easy to forget that H1Z1 didn't start out as a competitive shooter. It launched as an online zombie survival title, split into two experiences and eventually saw the battle royale side take the H1Z1 name -- the original experience evolved under the Just Survive banner. And now, that initial game is going away. Daybreak has unveiled plans to shut down Just Survive on October 24th at 2PM Eastern, pinning the move on a low player count that made support impractical.
Battle royale shooter 'H1Z1' officially arrives on PS4
You're in a tough spot if you're a PS4 owner who likes battle royale, but doesn't care much about Fortnite. PUBG is a no-go, Realm Royale is still in a closed beta and titles like Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 will cost money just to play. It's a good thing, then, that Daybreak has officially launched H1Z1 after weeks of open testing. The free-to-play shooter makes its formal debut on the console with familiar game mechanics that focus on fast-paced matches in a semi-realistic world. The main improvement is content -- the 'finished' version has considerably more than you initially saw in the beta.
'Fortnite' gets its first vehicle: Shopping carts
For all of the things that Epic Games has delivered in its weekly Fortnite updates, vehicles have not been one of them. While both PUBG and H1Z1 already allow players to hop in a car and fast-travel across the map, Fortnite has relied on items such as Hop Rocks and Jetpacks to give gamers an advantage over their opponents. However, Epic Games isn't shy when it comes to testing out new ideas, so today it finally gave players their first taste of transportation in the form of 'shopping carts.
'H1Z1' battle royale arrives fashionably late on PS4
The battle royale genre is certainly all the rage right now, but before Fortnite: Battle Royale and PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, Daybreak's H1Z1 was challenging players with its zombie survival sandbox. It's been a bumpy ride, however, after three years of early access H1Z1 has not only launched as a full-fledged game, it's also kicking off its PlayStation 4 open beta today.
Battle royale pioneer 'H1Z1' comes to PS4 on May 22nd
PS4 players don't have many major choices for battle royale games: there's Fortnite, of course, but you won't find PUBG or up-and-coming games like Radical Heights. All that is about to change in a month, though, as Daybreak is releasing H1Z1 (the title that arguably started the battle royale trend) an open PS4 beta on May 22nd. It'll remain free-to-play with purchasable cosmetic items, but will pack new progression mechanics to keep things quick, including the pacing of the gas (the zone of death in battle royale titles) and airdrops.
'H1Z1' Pro League's Vegas matches stream on Facebook this weekend
H1Z1's take on the battle royale genre may not be as popular as, say, Fortnite or PUBG, but it has something the other two don't: an eSports tournament in Vegas. On Saturday the 21st, 75 pro players from 15 well-known teams like Echo Fox, Cloud9 and Luminosity will try to survive to the bitter end at the Twin Galaxies eSports Center, which is located just off the strip within Caesars Entertainment Studios.
'H1Z1' eSports league will stream solely on Facebook
H1Z1 has had to fight hard for time in the spotlight with PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds and Fortnite hanging around, but it might have a way of grabbing attention. Twin Galaxies' H1Z1 Pro League has unveiled an exclusive deal that will stream all digital content on Facebook. It has an official home, too -- it'll be situated in Las Vegas' Twin Galaxies eSports Arena, with Caesars Entertainment as the official venue and entertainment partner. The first season starts April 21st with 15 teams (including well-known outfits like Cloud9 and Luminosity) competing in two splits of 10 weeks each, with the championship due in the fall.
Sony has sold the MMO division responsible for 'EverQuest' and 'Planetside 2'
Sony has sold its online gaming division Sony Online Entertainment (SOE). SOE has been making games since the late '90s, and is probably most famous for developing the EverQuest series. Most of its games have been released for both Windows and Sony platforms, but as a result of the acquisition it'll apparently be bringing future titles to Xbox and mobile platforms as well. The buyer? A relatively unknown investment firm called Columbus Nova.
Smedley announces SOE is no more, becomes Daybreak Game Company
In a surprising move, CEO John Smedley just announced on Reddit that Sony Online Entertainment is leaving behind its Sony roots and becoming Daybreak Game Company after being acquired by the investment firm Columbus Nova. This change allows the company to publish online games on multiple gaming platforms, including the XBox. Smedley also assured players via Twitter that all of the games in the company's portfolio are staying and will continue to be a part of the new company. Here's the full announcement plastered on the official forums of each of the company's games: Dear Players, Partners and Friends, Today, we are pleased to announce that we have been acquired by Columbus Nova, an investment management firm well known for its success with its existing portfolio of technology, media and entertainment focused companies. This means that effective immediately SOE will operate as an independent game development studio where we will continue to focus on creating exceptional online games for players around the world, and now as a multi-platform gaming company. Yes, that means PlayStation and Xbox, mobile and more! As part of this transition, SOE will now become Daybreak Game Company. This name embodies who we are as an organization, and is a nod to the passion and dedication of our employees and players. It is also representative of our vision to approach each new day as an opportunity to move gaming forward. So what exactly does this mean for you? It will be business as usual and all SOE games will continue on their current path of development and operation. In fact, we expect to have even more resources available to us as a result of this acquisition. It also means new exciting developments for our existing IP and games as we can now fully embrace the multi-platform world we are living in. Our games and players are the heart and soul of our organization, and we are committed to maintaining our portfolio of online games and pushing the limits of where we can take online gaming together. Thank you for your continued support. See you in game! The Team at Daybreak
H1Z1 suffers overnight downtime, whispers of server wipes [Updated]
It's not an easy time to be playing H1Z1 right now, especially since you sort of can't. The game's servers went down last night for a quick fix, according to Sony Online Entertainment president John Smedley; they've been down since, with players getting increasingly vocal and anxious about what comes next. No further updates have come from the company after Smedley's assurance that there are issues to be fixed that cannot be solved simply by rolling back to the previous patch. Once players can get back in to the game, there may very well be a server wipe greeting them (a possibility suggested by the technical director), although perks like tickets, crates, and cosmetic recipes will not be lost in the event of a server wipe. SOE has promised to give plenty of notice before taking such drastic measures. Players are divided on whether this is a good thing or not, although widespread reports of item duping sit at the root of the issue. There's still no ETA on when the servers will be back online or what will be fixed when they come back up, but players could be looking at a very different environment. [Update: Servers appear to be up again now. SOE has said that the promised European servers are still incoming: "getting MORE servers, still calculating what we can fit."]
Last Week on Massively: Hizzy in a tizzy
This post originally appeared on Massively from Editor-in-Chief Brianna Royce. At the end of every week, we round up the best and most popular news stories, exclusive features, and insightful columns published on Massively and then present them all in one convenient place. If you missed a big MMO story last week, you've come to the right post. SOE's H1Z1, affectionately called "hizzy" by gamers generally opposed to syllables, lurched into Steam early access this week. The really-still-in-alpha survival-flavored zombiebox, which boasts hundreds of PvE and PvP mini-servers, provoked outrage from fans who consider the game's airdrop mechanic "pay-to-win," which led SOE to offer refunds and apologies. Read on for a look at the rest of this week's top stories.
First Impressions: H1Z1 is more boredom than terror
What would video game purgatory look like? After spending an afternoon wandering aimlessly across a mostly-deserted countryside, I'd have to say that H1Z1's early access build fits the description of limbo perfectly. I even smacked into a wall of grey nothing that bordered the eight square kilometers of play space and wondered whether it might be more interesting in that haze than back among the living dead. H1Z1, as SOE will emphatically tell you, is not anywhere near to being done. Features are missing, placeholder art is everywhere, and there isn't a female character to be seen. It's only just playable on a larger scale, and yet the studio felt fit to open hundreds of servers (and take in thousands of dollars) so that the early crowd could sate its curiosity. There's no NDA, either, which means that the studio definitely wants people to chat the game up, whether good or bad. I'm happy to oblige.
H1Z1 is going 'nuclear' on hackers
From the sound of it, the H1Z1 crew put in some serious overtime during this past weekend. SOE President John Smedley has been posting updates across Reddit, especially in reference to hackers and important patch fixes. Smedley said that the team is "extremely on top of" any hacking going on in the game and will only get better as time goes by. "What we have is extremely robust in terms of detection and prevention," he posted. "Now that we started with detection, you'll be seeing the prevention go nuclear." Patches that are coming soon to the game will cover many vital issues, according to Smedley. These fixes include more loot, frame rate fixes, the infamous G29 problem, the floating arrow bug, and a slower drain rate for hunger and thirst.
PSA: Monday is the last day for H1Z1 refunds
Following complaints over a change of heart regarding the selling of vital resources in zombie survival game H1Z1, Sony Online Entertainment is offering refunds for those upset with the change in design. SOE President John Smedley tweeted instructions for unsatisfied survivors on Friday, noting in the game's Reddit community that the no-questions-asked refund policy will be available until Monday, January 20 for those that purchased H1Z1 before 10:30 PST on January 16. The offer follows unrest from a change in plans for the types of supplies that can be gained from in-game transactions, such as the purchasable tickets for airdrops. In an eight-month-old Reddit thread, Smedley stressed that the team would "NOT be selling Guns, Ammo, Food, [or] Water," explaining that it would "suck in our opinion if we did that." Those plans have since changed.
SOE's Adam Clegg apologizes for H1Z1 airdrop snafu
In the wake of this week's H1Z1 early access launch issues and "pay-to-win" airdrop controversy, SOE's Adam "Arclegger" Clegg offered a lengthy apology and explanation to the unruly mob on Reddit. I wanted to address what I said in an earlier stream with NGTZombies prior to our release. I said you cannot buy a gun or ammo and it had to be found in the world. When you are on a stream, and you are talking about your game, you tend to talk a million miles an hour both to keep the information flowing and to keep it entertaining. But sometimes things get said without completely thinking about what you are saying 100% through. H1Z1 is a massive game with a lot of systems, some of which we were tuning every day and finishing last minute. When I said you can't buy any guns or ammo, I completely disregarded the possibility of airdrops and meant that you can't buy a gun or ammo and have it go into your starting loadout, or your loadout immediately like you were buying a gun from the gun store. All that being said, I totally understand how what I said was at the time lying to you guys and I apologize. But please understand that's not what I was trying to do. For those of you that don't know me or understand me, know that I'm not trying to be this monster that is conniving and lying in hopes that you get tricked into buying the game. I am very passionate about making video games and I want more than anything in the world for people to love the games that I am a part of making. Clegg explained that during testing, the loot-heavy airdrops resulted in a "gladiator style brawl" that epitomized the conflict SOE wanted to generate in the game. "Whether you agree with us or not," he wrote, "that is how we want airdrops to work." The second half of his post covers the details of the changes incoming to the system as noted yesterday. SOE President John Smedley announced last night that the studio will grant refunds to those early access purchasers who request them by Sunday. Self-initiated refunds through Steam are also now possible.
H1Z1 bests login issues, justifies and tweaks 'pay-to-win' airdrops [Update: Refunds being granted]
Zombie sandbox MMO H1Z1 launched into early access on Steam yesterday evening only to be plagued with login server issues that caused even us to cancel our planned stream. In other words, it was an MMO launch. Overnight, SOE's John Smedley told Reddit that those problems have been mopped up that that SOE is currently working on G29 and G99 errors, server framerates, disappearing chats, crash bugs, and a "runaway memory situation." Reddit and Steam's user review section have exploded not over the predictable early access technical issues but over cash-shop airdrops, which some players say constitute pay-to-win in violation of SOE's stated philosophy. Smed denied obfuscating the presence of airdrops, saying SOE has "been straight about it" and justifying the mechanic: 1) You cannot call in airdrops until the servers are 1/4 full. 2) You can't call in airdrops without generating a ton of zombie heat. 3) the airdrops are random in what they deliver. 4) you are not guaranteed to get a single thing out of the airdrop you called in. You could die trying and you're out the money. 5) We fly the plane in very slowly and loudly.. we also stream green smoke from it you can see from very far away. But he does note that SOE will be "making some big changes" to airdrops, including widening the radius, reducing the chance they'll drop guns, slowing the airdrop planes even more, and increasing the number of players who can call them at any given time. "If you think it's P2W don't buy it. Don't play it," Smed posted. "But I have to say wait until you've personally tried them before making the call."
H1Z1 is now available, here's a trailer
Zombie survival sandbox H1Z1 is now available to play. Or test. Or whatever it is ya'll are doing inside these half-finished games that are killing it on Steam. What can you expect for your $19.99 or $39.99? Well, lots of bugs, placeholder artwork, and low-quality character models, according to a recent dev post. You also get to shoot your fellow zombie fans in the face, though, and purportedly influence development of the game going forward. SOE has released a new trailer to mark today's launch. You can view it after the break!
Leaderboard: Are you playing H1Z1 this week?
SOE's zombie-flavored sandbox comes to Steam early access tomorrow, and despite the under construction warnings of CEO John Smedley, I'm betting that lots of people are going to buy it. The question, though, is whether or not you have bought it. How about it, Massively readers? Are you playing H1Z1 this week? Ever wish that you could put to rest a long-standing MMO debate once and for all? Then welcome to the battle royal of Massively's Leaderboard, where two sides enter the pit o' judgment -- and only one leaves. Vote to make your opinion known, and see whether your choice tops the Leaderboard!
