Ion: Weltraum-MMO des DayZ-Erfinders ist tot

Dean Hall is well known as the developer behind the zombie online game DayZ. He no longer has any involvement with it, as he wanted to create a large space sandbox called Ion. However, that will not happen either.

Dean Hall apparently had enough of zombies when he left the developer studio Bohemia Interactive at the end of 2014 and founded the indie studio RocketWerkz. With a new team, he wanted to tackle an ambitious project. Ion was to become a space sandbox MMO, which aimed to offer players virtually endless possibilities. It was described as a mix between Minecraft and EVE Online with an isometric, Diablo-like perspective and organ simulation.

Without organs, no one can live

The characters’ organs were to have real functions. For example, if one’s brain was shot away, they should also not be able to do anything. Having only one lung would make breathing difficult, and so on. Apparently, it would have been possible to replace the organs.

The technology behind the game was supposed to be provided by the developer studio Improbable, which also provided the technology behind the MMO Worlds Adrift. Because a huge galaxy was supposed to be simulated that players could explore.

No one is working on Ion

But now no one is working on Ion anymore. Dan Hall and RocketWerkz are currently developing other games, and Improbable is no longer involved either. This apparently means the end of the project, as Dean Hall also confirmed that there are currently no works taking place on Ion. According to him, it is not possible to realize the ambitious game without the help of Improbable and their technology. However, he prefers when players are angry at him for not releasing a game than to release a game that neither he nor the fans are satisfied with.

It is simply normal that games are announced, paused, or canceled. That probably means we will not get to see the ambitious space MMO.