The zombie spectacle H1Z1 launches as a shooter. Now it gets its own tournament on US television on the supernatural network “The CW.”
H1Z1 is a disappointment for us MMORPG players. It was developed by the Everquest studio Sony Online Entertainment, the Everquest creator John Smedley protected the survival MMO. It was supposed to be a sort of Minecraft with more RPG elements and, of course, with zombies. In January 2015, H1Z1 entered early access. However, the initial hype faded quickly as the game was long considered too buggy, with too many cheaters, and too many problems.
Just Survive rots – King of the Kill takes off
Later, the studio reconsidered and brought the “shooter side” of the game to the forefront. Instead of crafting, there were now deathmatches in battle royale format. Instead of continuing to develop patches, the studio launched a large tournament and invited prominent Twitch streamers. This side of the game was then separated from the actual game in February 2016 as “King of the Kill,” which was then named “Just Survive.”
While “Just Survive” is rotting away and not much has happened in the 2 years since early access – although the studio swears: “It’s not dead” – “King of the Kill” is fully taking off after a strong start. It is regularly found in the top 5 of the Steam charts. Now they have landed a huge deal.
$300,000 tournament airs on “Supernatural” TV network
The latest tournament of King of the Kill is called “Fight for the Crown” and will be broadcast on April 20 on US television. And not on some low-tier network, but on the “The CW” network – that’s the teen network of Warner Brothers. They are behind series like Supernatural, Arrow, The Vampire Diaries, or The Flash.
Why is H1Z1 so attractive for the network? The $300,000 tournament will not be held in multiple rounds, but in one giant match. 15 teams of 5 players each will compete against each other in one match. This approach convinces those involved in the deal, says producer Chriss Wynn.
Here you can sign up for the $300,000 tournament.
The winner of the tournament will receive $180,000. This attracts popular teams from other eSports titles like Cloud9, Echo Fox, or Counterlogic Gaming. The tournament will take place in Los Angeles.
A port on PS4 and Xbox One is also under discussion:
H1Z1 – Zombie shooter: “We have not given up on PS4, Xbox One”
