‘H1Z1: King Of The Kill’ PS4 And Xbox One Development Paused As PC Release Dated
H1Z1: King of the Kill, the Battle Royale spin-off of the zombie survival game, was given a date for its Early Access release Tuesday. Unfortunately, that does not include the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions of the title as Daybreak Games announced console development has been paused.
Daybreakannounced H1Z1: King of the Kill will officially launch for PC gamers on Steam on September 20, 2016 for $29.99. The game was originally included as part of the H1Z1 open-world survival game before being split into two separate titles in February of this year, as covered by The Inquisitr. This was to give each version of the game its own dedicated development teams.
Up to 150 players are parachuted into a match of H1Z1: King of Kill. When they land, it is a scramble to find weapons, ammunition, and gear to survive a grueling deathmatch to become the last player standing. Hiding to survive can be an option, but toxic gas and bombs dropping during the match encourage players not to camp on a single spot.
The plan with the February split was to release the PS4 and Xbox One versions by the end of the summer when the PC version exits Steam Early Access. The PC version is a go, but Executive Producer Chris Wynn explained the decision to pause development on the console edition in a letter to fans posted on the game’s website.
“When I first joined the H1Z1 team, I looked to build a plan that would get H1Z1 out of Early Access and shipped on three platforms. Working out that schedule, everything lined up for a summer release of the game. We were just as excited as our players with the idea of King of the Kill on their PS4 or Xbox One. As we started to execute against that plan, it became apparent that the schedule was just too risky. We were spread too thin trying to fix areas of the game while simultaneously getting the game to work on the console hardware. It became clear that to best line up the game for success was to reduce the number of variables in the equation.”
“As a result, I have decided to pause our efforts on the console versions and put 100% of the focus on to the PC version of the game for right now,” he revealed.
“It was definitely a tough decision, but I think it was the right one to make. We have been able to make essential updates to the gunplay, combat, and vehicles, get the new map in a state to go live, and add lots of polish to the core areas of the game.”
Meanwhile, H1Z1: Just Survive, the original open-world zombie survival version, appears to be stuck in Steam Early Access limbo. Daybreak Games continues to release updates to the game, but there is no definitive date or release window when it will be officially released.
H1Z1 was originally announced at the end of 2014 as a Steam Early Access title with plans for a PlayStation 4 release. Sony sold SOE a little more than a year later, and its name changed to Daybreak Games. The studio also revealed that it would bring titles like H1Z1 and Planetside 2 to Microsoft’s Xbox One console.
[Image via Daybreak Games]
