Daybreak says H1Z1: King of the Kill needs more time in Early Access to "bake"

H1Z1: King of the Kill, which was scheduled to launch on September 20, will remain in Early Access a while longer, according to a post on the game's official site. No updated release date or window has been announced, though publisher and developer Daybreak Game Company stated the Early Access pricing of $19.99 will continue until the game is launched (it was set to increase to $29.99 tomorrow).

As for the reason behind the delay, the post states:

"While we’ve mentioned that there are a lot of new features, systems, and polish coming, I know there is some uncertainty in the community around September 20th given that many of these features have not yet made it to the Test server for you to get your hands-on, explore, and provide feedback on-- you are operating in the dark with only our word to go on. There are a lot of reasons why we have not pushed those features to test, but reading all of your feedback made us recognize that we definitely need time to test all of these new features at scale."

"Ultimately," the post continues, "this means that we are going to let the game 'bake' a bit longer and ensure that you continue to have a voice and are able to provide feedback into the features that you have not had the opportunity to play."

There is still an update planned for the 20th, which will bring several changes such as a new UI, the removal of Crate Keys and Air Drop tickets, and some additional in-game currency is being added.

"Crowns will be replacing Daybreak Cash as the primary purchasing currency. You will have the option to convert all, or just a select amount of DBC over to Crowns within the game’s launcher. This conversion will be one to one, one DBC for one crown. In-game items and crates remain the same price, just converted to Crowns. We are also introducing Skulls and Credits. Skulls are a new currency which can be used to buy new rewards for your character, while Credits will be earned through normal gameplay and can then be used in the Bounty System to earn Skulls."

Everybody got that? What's more, there is a character wipe planned for the 20th, so character names and stats will be erased. In-game items will remain in players' accounts, however.

You can read the full list of changes in the post.

Chris started playing PC games in the 1980s, started writing about them in the early 2000s, and (finally) started getting paid to write about them in the late 2000s. Following a few years as a regular freelancer, PC Gamer hired him in 2014, probably so he'd stop emailing them asking for more work. Chris has a love-hate relationship with survival games and an unhealthy fascination with the inner lives of NPCs. He's also a fan of offbeat simulation games, mods, and ignoring storylines in RPGs so he can make up his own.