If you operate a private server for DayZ, Bohemia Interactive's open-world zombie-dodging survival game, you now have the official green-light to monetize it—that is, to charge real money for access and items, and to bar entry to those who don't want to fork over the dough. But there are some limitations.
Only perks and rewards that don't impact gameplay can be offered; the sale of items including "in-game money, weapons, ammo, vehicles, discounts, vehicle spawns, housing and any other gameplay affecting features" are not allowed, and servers offering them will not be approved. The use of mods on monetized servers is okay, but only with permission from the mod maker; product placement, in-game advertising, and sponsorships are also allowed.
The accompanying Server Monetization FAQ takes pains to differentiate between accepting donations, which has been allowable all along, and charging for access, which has not. Simply put, if you're offering any kind of reward in exchange for money, then it's not a donation, it's a sale—and in that case, you'll have to register your server for approval.
Bohemia, which isn't taking a cut of the server income, described the rollout of server monetization as a "test run," and as such it will come to an end on May 31 of 2016. "At that point, we will evaluate its effects on the community," the studio wrote. The full list of currently approved servers is available here.
