First off, thank you all for your patience as we worked through what’s next for Z1BR.
We have a deep love for this game. H1Z1 on PC, after all, is the OG BR game that launched the most popular genre in the world, and many of us have spent years working on it. We know as well as anybody how much the landscape for battle royale has changed over that time; but we still believe there is a special something to H1’s unique flavor of no-frills BR.
The dev team at NantG did an amazing job bringing Z1BR back to its roots, but the sudden transition left the game in today’s uncertain state. The challenges are real and significant. But we also know that many of you love this game just as we do. With your help, we believe we can try out some new ideas and get the game back on solid footing.
Ultimately, we understand that no single update or major content drop will ever get Z1BR back to #1 on Twitch or bring in millions of new players. But we’re not ready to call it quits either. Like you guys, many of us have poured thousands of hours into this game; we still believe it fills a special niche and offers a unique experience no other BR game can match.
PC vs PS4
The immediate challenge we faced at the beginning of this transition is that our team has been entirely focused on PS4 development for some time. Z1BR (PC) and H1Z1 (PS4) development and gameplay have forked in meaningful ways in the past year -- particularly when it comes to the core combat mechanics that make Z1BR so unique.
That said, while we don’t want to touch Z1BR’s core mechanics, one of the advantages we start out with is a deep library of PS4 content (past, present, and under development) that we’ve already begun scoping out for Z1BR. PS4 content like new modes (e.g. FFA), new weapons, new vehicles, new skins, and ultimately, a new map are now all on the table for Z1BR.
The game will still continue to look and feel like the Z1BR you know and love. Only now with both games under the same umbrella again, we have the opportunity to experiment with some of the fun new content we cooked up for PS4 that we can now bring to both games and both communities.
SEASON 4
We initially ended Season 3 and kicked off a new, interim Season 4 so we could work on our strategy to support both games. Now that we’re ready, we plan to immediately introduce meaningful new content to Z1BR with our first game update next week on Thursday, June 13.
Next week’s update will include:
• ARV for all modes
• LMG and Scout Rifle for all modes
• 6 new Arcade Modes
• New Skins and Outfits
And on deck following next week’s update is the return of an old friend: Auto Royale!
This is our first opportunity to introduce some of the cool content our PS4 team designed, but it also signifies our focus on live service: more frequent updates, rotating Arcade modes, fresh content and new events.
SEASON 5…AND BEYOND
We have a lot more PS4 content available for Z1BR – some in active development, some tried and tested on console that we believe will make for a fun change of pace for our PC community.
But the BIGGEST content drop we know is coming to BOTH platforms is a major one: the new Outland map.
As our PC community remembers will with Z2 and Z1 Remastered, developing a new map is an enormous undertaking, and we’re not dropping a date until we’ve had more time for testing. But the good news is that Outland has been under development for PS4 for months now, which means we’re a lot closer to being able to bring it PC Test Servers than we would’ve been if we’d started developing it anew at the beginning of this transition.
Thank you again for all your patience and support over the last few months (and years!). This is just a first step forward, but the road ahead could not be more exciting.