Dear Survivors!
DayZ is now out on all the major platforms – PC, Xbox, and PS4.
You've probably seen team changes on social networks and are wondering: what's next? Of course, that's only natural, and today we would like to talk about the current issues, the expectations set by both the DayZ Mod and 0.62, and the future of the game.
Past, Present, and Future
Parity with 0.62 and the DayZ Mod – full parity isn't possible because of the engine specifics. While features from 5 years ago are exciting, we want to remind you: most of the features didn't really work properly back then, and this is why it wasn't a final game.
You might question the necessity of a new engine, but for those who took a long break from the game, it's plain to see just how much of a difference it has made. DayZ runs a lot smoother on the new engine. Although it might be hard to notice the change when you play daily, taking a step back should help to highlight many of the improvements that have been made during development. And these improvements are strengthening the game every day. We see it through the steadily increasing player count (even on PC) since March 2019 (public data is here). We see it in Twitch statistics – with more channels streaming the game and more people watching (link to Twitch stats). It might be a far cry away from the numbers of 2013, but for an almost 6-year-old game, it's pretty good! Of course, we will continue to work on DayZ to make everyone's experience better.
Let's take a more detailed look at the game and its future:
- Advanced health system – We improved it in 1.04 and will continue the balancing. However, at this time we will not commit to implementing complex medical/injury gameplay – while this is desired by many hardcore players, we are still struggling to fully explain the complexity of the existing system to the majority of players. Moving forward, we are working on a nice balance between authenticity and accessibility.
- New content (guns, cars, etc.) – As you know, we have already added some of these. More will follow, but keep in mind that it will depend on how quickly we can achieve this year's goals.
- Modding support – We will improve the user experience for both modders and players. For example, we will soon bring animation tool support.
- Stable base building – A large part of this is the matter of balancing, and it's one of our key objectives for the year.
Our focus for DayZ for the rest of 2019 will be: bug fixing, stabilizing, balancing, and modding support.
We also plan to release an official DLC this year (keep your eyes open, and follow us on social media for updates). Additionally, we are currently experimenting with Survivor GameZ (a mod and popular tournament from the past), and will possibly bring this to DayZ as an additional game mode.
About people
It's normal – especially in this industry – to move on after working on a particular project for several years. And after major releases are done is the most likely time to do so. With DayZ, it's no different, and after releasing 1.0 on PC and console, some people are moving onto other projects internally, or leaving the company. It should go without saying that no matter what, these people will always be in the hearts of the DayZ team.
While these are by no means the only team changes, we wanted to at least address the public faces of the game who are leaving:
- Peter, Lead Designer, who led the design direction of DayZ through many tough years.
- Eugen, Project Lead, will always be loved for his honesty and open ears to both players and developers.
- Martin, Brand Manager, is in our hearts for his effort to finally bring DayZ successfully to players on Xbox and PlayStation.
- Baty, Community Manager, loved for all the personal care for our community and interactions with our player base.
Everyone who worked on DayZ not only has a great line in their portfolio, but the tremendous support of both us and the community behind them, and we wish them all the success in the world. Press F to pay respects.