The survival MMO H1Z1 takes some inspiration from Blizzard’s Hearthstone. Even at the release in early access, certain game modes in the later free-to-play MMO, known as events, will be hidden behind a small paywall, and players will need a ticket.
At the announcement of the early access on January 15, SOE President John Smedley surprisingly mentioned two versions of the game that would then be available. A “normal” version for 20 dollars and a premium version. This will, as Smedley explains now on reddit, cost $40.
The premium version will come with a few “tickets.” These tickets will also be sold individually (for 99 cents) or players should earn them “in-game.” Similar to Blizzard’s Hearthstone.
There will still be, as planned, servers with a variety of rules: PvE servers, servers without zombies, or servers where zombies can only be taken out with a headshot, and many more. These “normal” servers with different rules are all open.
For a Hunger Games feel, players will likely have to pay
But there will also be “event” servers, for which survivors will need a ticket. This includes, for example, a “Hunger Games” battle royale event, where players will compete against each other right at the beginning for the best gear, like the tributes in the “Hunger Games” book/movie series for the cornucopia.
Whether these event servers – like the arena in Hearthstone – will only be open for a limited time and repeatedly close and reopen, Smedley does not say. His remarks suggest this: They want to limit access to these event servers and reward participants.
