H1Z1 will be coming to PS4 after the PC version is released, SOE president John Smedley confirmed to us. The PS4 version of SOE's post-apocalyptic zombie-driven MMO was confirmed for PS4 over the weekend during SOE Live, but it wasn't announced when it would arrive for Sony's new console.
“It's PC first, only because we haven't started on the PS4 version,” Smedley told us, giving us some backstory on the game's development process.
“The PlanetSide 2 engine, the version of Forgelight, and H1Z1 are identical. So the reason we're waiting is that H1Z1 — 80 percent of the works is going to be done by launching PlanetSide 2 because all of the PlayStation 4 specific stuff will have been taken care of with the engine. Porting H1Z1 over after that will take a few months.”
Unfortunately, we still don't know when PlanetSide 2 will launch on PS4 — other than some time in 2014 — and we have no idea when H1Z1 will enter early access on PC. It's also unclear at what stage H1Z1 will have to be in for SOE to release the PS4 version. As I mentioned in my hands-on preview with the game, it's still very early in development, but the core mechanics of a fun survival MMO are definitely in place.
