On Monday, December 8th, the survival MMO H1Z1 will receive its early access date.
There might still be something under the Christmas tree for H1Z1.
As SOE President John Smedley tweets, they will announce the early access date on Monday, December 8th. Now they just need to finalize a few details and then they’ll release the date. It was previously said that it would take about a week from the announcement of the date until the early access starts. So it could be on December 15th, but that’s still speculation.
Keep in mind: Monday in US time may mean Tuesday morning for us.
H1Z1 has been quiet in recent months. SOE wanted to polish the early access version before showing it to the players. There seems to have been a change in direction regarding how the game is evaluated internally.
H1Z1 was actually supposed to go into early access in May. Apparently, they decided to change course when they realized how much reception the survival MMO H1Z1 received. SOE apparently did not want to miss this opportunity with an early launch.
The game aims to distinguish itself from other zombie MMOs like DayZ or Rust mainly by setting up a persistent world (one that remains and is not recreated with each match). Additionally, social interactions are emphasized – players essentially rely on their reputation on a server. H1Z1 wants to emphasize MMO components and offer a robust and complex crafting system.
Sure, it took a bit longer – So what?
After a quieter phase that lasted five to six months, development picked up speed again two weeks ago. Now it seems to be heading for the finish line. In early access, they want to give players a “vertical slice” of all features, essentially showing a bit from every part of the game.
The early access will take place via Steam for PC. PlayStation 4 users will have to wait: Development for the PS4 is currently on hold; SOE wants to wait until Planetside 2 has done the preliminary work for a port from the Forgelight engine to the current-gen console.
They estimate a price for early access between €16 and €20. However, the game will later be free-to-play.
SOE President Smedley reiterated on Twitter that they set high standards for early access. SOE is now very satisfied with it. Sure, it took a bit longer… but so what?
The H1Z1 early access date is going to be announced Monday. Finalizing details.
— John Smedley (@j_smedley) December 6, 2014
We wanted to set a high bar quality-wise for early access. Happy with where we ended even if it took longer. So what.
— John Smedley (@j_smedley) December 6, 2014
