The zombie survival game DayZ is currently extremely successful. And this is despite the fact that the development studio was recently closed. How is that?
Why is DayZ so successful? The studio Bohemia Interactive explains that “there has been a large influx of new players.” “Hundreds of thousands” have joined recently. This is because DayZ has been part of the Xbox Game Pass since May 7.
Bohemia Interactive’s Publishing Director, Vojtěch Ješátko, explains the situation:
The Xbox Game Pass is a great opportunity for us to make the game accessible to a different audience and let a large number of new players experience DayZ in all its roughness and beauty alongside the veterans.
Vojtěch Ješátko, Bohemia Interactive
A great success
What does it mean to be part of the Xbox Game Pass? Those who subscribe to the Xbox Game Pass gain access to over 100 games on the Xbox One.
The regular pass costs 9.99 euros per month, while the Ultimate Pass including Xbox Live Gold membership costs only 1 euro in the first month, then 12.99.
New games are regularly added to the library, including DayZ on May 7. Players who get the Xbox Pass Ultimate can play DayZ and hundreds of other titles for only one euro in the first month.
What is the current status of DayZ? The zombie survival game has been in development for what feels like an eternity. Nevertheless, it is already a lot of fun in its current version.
The alpha version of DayZ started in December 2013. In December 2018, version 1.0 finally went live and the game was ported to a new graphics engine. Since spring 2019, DayZ is also no longer part of the Xbox Game Preview Program but has been officially released.
In May 2019, the version for PS4 was also released.
Only at the end of April did Bohemia Interactive announce via Twitter that the development studio in Bratislava, which had previously worked on DayZ, had been closed. They thanked the team and stated that despite the closure, the current roadmap for updates for DayZ will continue.
However, Bohemia Interactive does not seem to want to give up the game:
Over the years, DayZ has gone through a challenging development, but at Bohemia Interactive, we have never lost faith in the game. Therefore, it is a very rewarding moment for the entire team to see the number of record players on all platforms. For us, this confirms that DayZ remains an incomparable and unforgettable survival experience.
Vojtěch Ješátko, Bohemia Interactive
What is DayZ? It is one of the first zombie survival games. Your task is basically just to survive. How you do that is up to you.
You encounter not only the undead in the vast game world but also other players whom you cannot always trust. PvP is an important aspect of DayZ, at least if you play on PvP servers.
We have compiled a number of very interesting survival games for you. If you want to know which one appeals to you, then check out MeinMMO’s list of the 23 best survival games 2020 for PS4, Xbox, and PC.
