This week, Sony Online Entertainment will launch Early Access for the upcoming post-apocalyptic, zombie-survival MMO, H1Z1. After months of trailers, previews, and livestreams, you’ll finally be able to go hands-on with the game for yourself starting January 15. But before you do, there are a few important things to note ahead of the Early Access launch.
It will be free to play
As with most Sony Online Entertainment titles, H1Z1 will follow the company’s free-to-play business model. That is, when the game launches, it will be entirely free to download and free to play. There will be an in-game store that supports microtransactions, but only for cosmetic items. Survival items like guns, ammunition, food, and water will not be purchasable through microtransactions, SOE has confirmed.
But you’ll have to pay for Early Access
As I mentioned, H1Z1 will be completely free to play when it officially launches. However, to start playing this week, you’ll need to pay for Early Access. This will allow you to play the game as it’s being developed, giving you a chance to offer feedback to the developers and even help shape the game. There are two price options for Early Access: the basic $19.99 SKU, and the $39.99 SKU which includes a bundle of tickets to access special event servers.
Event Servers are a different kind of beast
When H1Z1 launches, it will offer players different servers with varying rulesets, like no zombies, PvE only, etc. In addition, there’s also something called Event Servers, or servers that have different rules such as Battle Royale, that are accessible only through a “ticket” system. You are able to earn tickets simply by playing the game, or you can buy them through the in-game store. Alternatively, you can buy the more expensive $39.99 Early Access bundle and get a whole bunch of them.
It’s not a finished product
Remember, this is an Early Access. You’re playing a game that’s unfinished. There will be glitches, bugs, errors, crashes, you name it. The tradeoff is that you get to play the game as it’s being developed and offer your input and feedback. It doesn’t mean SOE will listen, but they are at least hearing your voice. SOE president John Smedley even suggests waiting for the full free-to-play launch if you are skeptical with how the game looks right now.
It won’t differ too much from DayZ… yet
H1Z1, at first, will be very similar to Bohemia Interactive’s post-apocalyptic survival game DayZ. Smedley even admits his game won’t be better than it — at least not at first. As an Early Access game, H1Z1 is not yet as feature rich, but that will change. SOE’s vision is to make a game that’s “fun, accessible, hard core, and super deep,” all set in a “large scale world that gives you the incredible feeling of being a survivor in a zombie apocalypse.” At this point, it’s hard to say how long it’ll take before they accomplish this goal, but that’s the overview. Here’s how SOE previously said H1Z1 will differ from DayZ.
It’s still coming to PS4
As John Smedley recently stated, SOE is still a PC-first company. Having said that, the company still has plans to bring H1Z1 to PlayStation 4. There’s just no release date as of yet. For now, SOE is focused on delivering the PC version, but says it shouldn’t take too long to bring it over to PS4. Speaking to Smedley last year, he explained that “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.” PlanetSide 2’s PS4 Closed Beta begins this month.
