Tag: H1Z1

H1Z1 Officially Launches As Its Player Base Dwindles


H1Z1 has officially launched after three years of early access, and its launch has brought with it a brand new game mode and the prospect of a coming pro league ala Overwatch’s recently launched venture. The official launch comes alongside a new content patch officially launching season one as well as introducing tactical drops (choosing your deployment area), an overhauled user interface, as well as Auto Royale, a new game mode that sticks players in vehicles and locks them there.

First, a BRAND NEW GAME MODE! This was one hard secret to keep, but we are excited to bring you Auto Royale™, a new team-based, vehicular battle royale game mode. We’ve seen how entertaining driving around can be in H1Z1, so we decided to run with the idea and have a little fun. In Auto Royale, we lock you and your teammates into a vehicle, launch you into the map with up to 29 other teams and watch the mayhem unfold.

That said, H1Z1 may be facing an uphill battle now that it is fully launched as Steam Charts show that the base has dwindled by about 91% since its peak last year. Last March, Kotaku waxed poetic about how King of the Kill had managed to pull its way into the top 10 most active Steam games despite the fact that the reviews were relatively negative for such a popular title. In fact, King of the Kill saw exponential growth between August 2016 and its peak in July 2017 and despite a review of just 57% positive at the time, managed to peak at over 150,000 concurrent players.

And then that number plummeted. By September that figure was down to 105 thousand and by November that number more than halved to 42 thousand. As of the last month, King of the Kill has dropped to about 14,000 peak concurrent players. How this drop in players will affect the viability of King of the Kill’s planned pro league is unclear, as the game’s Twitch viewership has also seen a major drop in attention in favor of PUBG and Fortnite Battle Royale.

Daybreak Announces Pro League for King of the Kill


How would you like to earn money while playing a game where shooting streamers is legal?

Daybreak Game Company today announced that its Battle Royale shooter H1Z1: King of the Kill will be getting the pro gaming treatment. Already host to professional tournaments, Daybreak has partnered with Twin Galaxies to create a “sustainable, first of its kind, professional esports league for the “one versus all” battle royale genre.”

The partnership has already produced a gamer’s bill of rights, guaranteeing the right to a “fair and livable wage,” as well as a governance committee and “best-in-class principles.” The league conference will be held on October 20, with the application window on the 23, team announcements in Q1 2018, and league play beginning in Q2 2018.

The league will consist of 15 teams of 5 players. There will be no fees or buy in costs for teams to participate.

(Source: H1Z1)

H1Z1: Just Survive Rebrands Itself, Relaunches


Much like the cycle of the moon, one can pretty much anticipate that another H1Z1 rebranding or new direction is just over the horizon. Daybreak Game Company announced today that the survival half of H1Z1, subtitled Just Survive is being further split off from its brother King of the Kill and will completely lose the H1Z1 branding. From today going forward, the game will just be called Just Survive.

In perpetual early access since its initial release of January 2015, H1Z1 has undergone quite a history of changing directions, starting with Daybreak announcing and then reneging on plans for a free to play model, chopping the game into two halves (Just Survive and King of the Kill).

“Our new logo and key art highlight all the aspects of the game that players know and love—from base building and defending, to looting and exploring, and also reflects how Just Survive is developing into a more mature and polished game,” said Ben Jones, Just Survive Creative Director. “Just Survive is about more than just killing zombies, it’s about the player’s survival journey. Re-establishing society isn’t an easy task, and this update introduces a variety of features, like Strongholds, that encourage players to band together through the dangers and tension of post-apocalyptic life while striving to reclaim their world from the zombie hordes.”

The update comes alongside a massive rework of the game’s fundamentals. Players will now start in a guarded military zone which also introduces a currency that can be obtained by selling items to NPCs. The gold will be needed to buy stronghold locations as it is no longer possible to construct a base wherever you want. For more information, check out the trailer below and take a gander at the patch notes on the official website.

H1Z1: King of the Kill Releases Producer’s Letter


Daybreak Game Company has released its latest producer’s letter for H1Z1: King of the Kill, detailing upcoming updates to the arena shooter. The combat update, set to hit the test server soon, will improve how weapons handle with a reticle offering an accurate idea of where your bullets will go. In addition, each weapon will be tuned to provide a more specific use at different ranges.

In addition to the weapon changes, new points of interest are being added to the map along with an updated bleed mechanic, a deathmatch mode, as well as a battle royale mode that gives each player the same random weapon with infinite ammo, with no weapons spawning in the map.

Check out the full letter at the link below.

(Source: H1Z1)

H1Z1 Hits TwitchCon With Another Tournament


H1Z1 will be back at TwitchCon 2017, with a brand new tournament at this year’s conference. Steadily the most viewed event at TwitchCon since it first came on the scene in 2015, the three tournament event runs from October 20 through 22 with a prize pool of $500,000.

“H1Z1 has pioneered the massive arena shooter genre and proved that large-scale esports is possible,” said Anthony Castoro, H1Z1 General Manager. “The H1Z1 Invitational has grown and evolved over the years. As H1Z1’s popularity has increased, so has demand for this type of programming, and this new 3-tournament format allows us to be inclusive of more players and provide a weekend full of content to viewers at home.”

You can find more information, as well as sign up for your chance at the money pit, at the link below.

(Source: H1Z1)

Fight For The Crown: $300k H1Z1 Tournament Coming


Daybreak Game Company has announced that the next big tournament for H1Z1: King of the Kill with a prize pool of three hundred grand for those willing to throw their hat into the ring. The tournament comes alongside a documentary on eSports to be aired on the CW, culminating in the 75-person tournament. First prize nets $180 grand of that total. In order to qualify, you’ll need to set up a team and ensure each player is qualified by ranking on the Twin Galaxies leaderboard.

H1Z1: Fight for the Crown is a six-part esports docuseries coming this spring to The CW Network, with the finale featuring the first ever 5-man H1Z1: King of the Kill tournament! The 75-person tournament will feature 15 elite teams of five, including Echo Fox, Rogue Gaming, Panda Global and Denial Esports, all competing for their share of a $300,000 prize pool.

Information regarding signing up is available at the page below.

(Source: H1Z1)

Daybreak Game Company Promises Support For H1Z1: Just Survive


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Ever since Daybreak Game Company split H1Z1 into its two parts, players of the environmentally focused Just Survive have grown pretty frustrated over a perceived lack of support. It wouldn’t surprise many to hear that King of the Kill has been receiving the bulk of DGC’s attention, especially when you consider that the game draws in about ten times the average traffic on Steam. H1Z1’s new General Manager Landon Montgomery has taken to Reddit to let players know that their voices are being heard, and the Just Survive team is working on improvements.

During the short time I have been here, I’ve been able to assess the Just Survive history both internally and externally. And, while I recognize that the past year has been a little frustrating for the loyal crowd, I know that the internal team is excited to push forward and do right by you, the players. It’s one of the reasons I’m here and why we’re actively building up the Just Survive team. We’ve added several key roles and we are excited to introduce these additional team members in the coming weeks.

We wish Landon Montgomery the best of luck in his new position. He’s going to need it.

(Source: Reddit)

Down The Line, Where Does H1Z1 Stand?


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Earlier this year, Daybreak Game Company announced that they would be splitting off H1Z1 into two separate games: King of the Kill and Just Survive. Since February, the games have been operating as two separate products leading myself and some others to ask: How have they fared?

Looking at the statistics, it’s safe to say that King of the Kill is easily what players bought into H1Z1 in order to play. The game peaked out in its launch month with an overall peak of more than twenty thousand players. Since then, traffic has dropped off about 25% to fifteen thousand, a respectable rate of retention, and has even grown slightly over the course of June.

The survival portion of H1Z1, meanwhile, has proven more stable while less popular. You can see in the chart that, upon split, Just Survive immediately loses nearly twenty thousand players from its peak numbers and sticks at about eight thousand. Since the split, however, the game has lost a distinctly smaller portion of its base. Peak numbers in February dropped from 8.7 thousand down to 7.0 thousand, so it looks like a substantially larger portion who stuck around during the split have stayed since then.

So while King of the Kill is more popular, Just Survive seems more stable. Both titles are no doubt doing well for Daybreak.

(Source: Steam Charts #1, #2)

[Video] H1Z1: KOTK Unveils New Ignition Mode


Daybreak Game Company have released the official trailer for H1Z1: King of the Kill’s newest game mode, Ingition.

Ignition is a high-intensity, frenzied game mode where the clock is always ticking. Players are outfitted with an explosive device that’s set to blow unless they gear up fast, jump on their ATV, and gun it to the safe zone. Every second matters in this turbo-charged battle to the death as players race from safe zone to safe zone before their time runs out.

Daybreak Game Company in “Growth” Mode


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Laura Naviaux Sturr, chief publishing officer over at Daybreak Game Company, sat down with Gamesindustry.biz in order to discuss the developer’s last year, certain hurdles, and how the company is looking forward. Over the past year, Sony Online Entertainment was spun off into its own company under a new name, saw massive layoffs and the closure of several titles, shuttered development on Everquest Next, and saw several high profile names jump ship including John Smedley.

Despite these layoffs, the company is growing and hiring.

“DC Universe Online continues to be strong and we’re bringing it to Xbox this spring. And EverQuest, it’s hard to believe, will turn 17 next week. Both [EQ and EQ2] will have fully fledged expansion packs this fall. And then there’s PlanetSide 2, of course, which we brought to PlayStation last year.”

One aspect of development that Daybreak has embraced over the past year is early access, starting with Everquest Landmark and moving on to zombie survival game H1Z1. H1Z1 was spun off into two separate products and two development teams, with one taking on the survival aspect and the other handling the Hunger Games-styled arena survival mode. The inaugural invitational for H1Z1 was the most viewed event at Twitchcon 2015, throwing in $173,000 in prizes.

Daybreak sees potential in VR, as a source of future premium content and potentially what could bring back subscription-based games. You can read all of Sturr’s thoughts at the link below.

(Source: Gamesindustry.biz)