DayZ will Finally be Leaving Early Access in 2018, will Get Console Release too

  

If you’re one of those people who have forgotten they have DayZ rotting away in their Steam library, you might have a little trouble believing Bohemia Interactive’s latest announcement. We can’t blame you there. However, if you’re one of the optimistic fans who are still active in-game to this day, then your optimism might have just been rewarded. The open-world survival game is scheduled to leave Early Access some time in 2018.

Dayz

68

Steam 39.00€

-30% 27.30€

DayZ started out as a mod for Arma 2 way back in 2009. It was scheduled to go into Early Access on Steam as a standalone game in 2012, but was pushed back to 2013. Four years later, the game is still in Alpha stage. Because of this, much of the negative reviews the game has been getting centers around the game’s very slow development pace.

In their latest Dev Update, lead producer Eugen Harton has come up with some big announcements.

“Let’s just state the obvious: the PC BETA is not coming before the end of 2017. We tried to get it done sooner, but it’s going to be 2018 folks. Both the BETA update and any further 0.63 updates, up to 1.0, will happen in 2018, which is shaping up to be one of the most important years for DayZ. That is as much as we are sure of yet. I’ll be honest, it has been a long wait already – even for us – but that’s all we got now.”

The post then lists what will be included in the planned beta release. The team has been dealing with building the game engine as well as developing the game at the same time since the start. This is the main reason behind the game’s very lengthy stay in alpha stage. The mere mention of a concrete plan for a beta launch next year will definitely get the hype train restarted, at least for those who haven’t given up on waiting.

Harton then goes through the 1.0, post release and console release plans.

“Rest assured, DayZ is not a done deal after BETA and 1.0. As I mentioned above, DayZ is a game AND a platform, and we intend on keeping DayZ alive for as long as it’s viable…

“As soon as the PC BETA is headed in a way we like, we’re still committed to bringing DayZ to Xbox, where we have a large community of gamers patiently (very patiently!) waiting for a truly hardcore online survival game… In short: DayZ will be out of Early Access next year, and we’ll also finally deliver it to console players in 2018.”

Not only is beta going to happen in 2018, but so is the 1.0 and console launch. This is definitely a huge leap from the 4-year stay in alpha. And before you say that they’ll probably screw it up again, here’s Harton’s stern pledge:

“Make no mistake: this commitment is done taking all of our previous scheduling mistakes into the account. We’re serious about it.”

Those are strong words, but words won’t be enough to convince those players who haven’t touched the game in months or even years. Once it all starts falling into place though, DayZ may well be able to re-ignite interest in the all-but-forgotten title.

The original Dev Update holds a ton of details for the future of DayZ. You can find it here.