H1Z1 Splitting Into Two Games on February 17th

An announcement on the official H1Z1 website brings word that Daybreak intends to revamp what was to be a zombie-infested, survival-focused MMORPG into two separate games - H1Z1: Just Survive and H1Z1: King of the Kill. It sounds like the former might still fit within our range of coverage as the announcement suggests that it'll toe a line that's at least close to the original vision, but the latter is described as a "fast-paced shooter", so it'll likely fall completely off our radar:

H1Z1 has been on an incredible journey since its inception, and the time spent in Early Access has been invaluable to the development direction of the game. Our community has been a huge part of the game's roadmap and success. Last year, we started to notice new player trends emerging both the initial Survival game and Battle Royale game mode now have strong populations who almost exclusively play one or the other.

The more we developed this game with you, our community, the more we realized that in order to fully support both aspects of H1Z1, and their respective players, we needed to make them their own stand-alone games supported by their own dedicated development teams. Many players in the community have been discussing splitting the game and we've heard you loud and clear. We want to make sure we give both titles the support they need and deserve to truly flourish.

So, we've decided to do just that we're excited to announce that the survival game will now be called H1Z1: Just Survive, with a renewed focus on truly delivering a persistent, open-world zombie survival experience where scavenging, crafting, and base building are the difference between life and death.

We're also excited to announce that the fast-paced shooter comprised of multiple, fight-to-the-death game modes, including Battle Royale, will be called H1Z1: King of the Kill (KotK).

Through in-game feedback, as well as discussions on Reddit, Steam, and Twitter, our community has been influential to us in arriving at this decision. The H1Z1 family is growing, and we can't wait to see what is in store for the H1Z1 franchise in the future.

Additionally, we are happy to tell you that we'll be bringing H1Z1: King of the Kill out of Early Access on the PC and to Xbox One and PlayStation® 4 this summer. We're working on our plans for bringing H1Z1: Just Survive out of Early Access and to console as well, and we'll share more details about that in the future.

H1Z1: Just Survive and H1Z1: King of the Kill will each have their own dedicated development resources. You can expect to get to know the newest additions to the teams as we continue our behind-the-scenes look with Dev Blogs, Livestreams, and more. They will also have separate social channels so it'll be easier for you to keep track of the game you care most about.

Anyone who already owns H1Z1 will be granted both versions and will see it listed in your Steam games inventory on February 17th (the official day of the split). Additionally, existing crates, keys, and items will be duplicated across both games. As originally intended, Airdrop tickets will be useable in H1Z1: Just Survive and Event tickets will be usable in H1Z1: King of the Kill.

If you have items on the Steam Market, they will be returned to your player inventory, and post-split you can relist them for sale under the correct game title.

Don't have H1Z1 yet? We are offering new customers a chance to get in on the action before the split. If you purchase H1Z1anytime on or before February 16th PST, you will be granted both H1Z1: Just Survive and H1Z1: King of the Kill at the time of the split. Starting today, H1Z1 is participating in the Steam Lunar Sale, so you can pick it up for a discounted price for a limited time!

Starting February 17th, both games will be available as separate Early Access titles for $19.99 each.

For more information, read our in-depth FAQ below.

Thank you for you continued support of H1Z1, and Daybreak Games.

Hit the above link for an official FAQ, too.