H1Z1 Leaves Early Access, Adds Vehicle Combat Mode, But Loses Players

H1z1 has officially left Steam early access and the official launch brings a big update which includes a new game mode, Auto Royale. As the name suggests this is a vehicle version of the Battle Royale mode with up to 30 teams of four in a battle to be the last vehicle standing.

AUTO ROYALE GAME MODE HIGHLIGHTS:

• Two New Vehicles: Players can choose from two vehicles in Auto Royale – Sedan or ARV – both new to the game and only available in Auto Royale.
  • Sedan: Nimble car with faster acceleration and higher jump clearance, allowing skilled drivers to quickly evade enemies.
  • Armored Recon Vehicle (ARV): Offers more stability, making it easier to drive for new players, but has less turbo fuel efficiency.
• New Weapons: The Light Machine Gun (LMG), available only in Auto Royale, deals the most sustained damage of any gun in the game.
• New Power Ups: Players pick up evasive, defensive and combat drops to throw opponents off their trail, heal themselves, or deal damage to enemy vehicles.
  • Defensive drops include vehicle repair kits, environmental buffs, fire extinguishers, and vehicle armour.
  • Evasive power ups include smoke screens, high-octane fuel, turbo boosts, and oil slicks.
  • Combative pick-ups include land mines and corrosive smoke.

However, being one of the first battle royale games on the market has meant H1Z1 faced strong competition from the likes of PUBG and Fortnite. It is reported that peak online players have dropped 91%, from 150,402 in June 2017 to 17,652 in the past thirty days. Daybreak will be hoping the new mode and launch out of early access will reinvigorate the player base.

The publisher put the console versions of the game on hold until the PC version was launched, it’s unclear if or when work on the PS4 and Xbox One versions of the game will restart.

Source: Press release / MCV