SOE have just announced their latest foray into the MMO space, H1Z1, an F2P survival horror MMO which one cannot help but to make comparisons to the not yet released DayZ.
Currently only announced for PC but as stated by SOE President, John Smedley: “Launching on PC, we have yet to discuss other platforms… but we are Sony” which implies that eventually it will be ported to the PS4 as well. This is no surprise as currently most of SOE’s MMOs are releasing on Sony’s home console.
Their plans for the game are massively ambitious. The initial play area on release will be a huge town but they plan to keep adding areas as time goes on until they encompass the whole US continent. This will be possible thanks to SOE’s proprietary Forgelight engine which is capable of supporting up to 2000 players in a single instance. Crafting will also be a huge part of the game where players will have to make their own weapons, equipment and apparently they will be even able to build shelters out of resources in the world. Players can even work together to make amazing fortresses complete with weaponry to defend against zombies and other players alike.
A DayZ clone releasing before the game itself is a bit of an ironic thing, but if SOE’s promises come true, this will be different enough to stand out from its inspiration and be a big success, because who doesn’t love Zombies.