H1Z1 officially launches, and developer Daybreak Games surprises fans with a new Auto Royale mode which pits teams against each other in vehicle-based combat.
After years of development in Steam’s Early Access program, H1Z1 has finally had a complete launch today. Fans of the long-time Battle Royale game were surprised to find that developer Daybreak Games had squeezed in a new mode: Auto Royale.
H1Z1‘s Auto Royale continues the same frantic effort for survival that the game always has, but with the goal being finding cars and supplies to support it. The mode allows for up to 30 teams of 4 members to fight it out, in order to be the last vehicle (and team) standing. In an effort to make the Auto Royale mode special, gamers will only be able to find two of the vehicles and several of the weapons exclusively in the new mode.
While H1Z1 has officially launched, the new Auto Royale mode is in beta and the developers are welcoming feedback from the community. It remains to be seen if the new mode can do anything to help H1Z1 regain some of its lost users. A recent story showed that H1Z1 has lost 91% of its player base since games like Fortnite and PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds came along. The developer will need to keep up the good work in order to bring back some of these players, but a fresh mode is sure to catch the interest of many.
Battle Royale games are extremely popular right now, with Fortnite and PUBG both gaining massive player bases and serious accolades. PUBG has become one of the best-selling games on the Xbox One, and Fortnite may be coming to the Switch, which will bring even more players into the fray. It’s possible that H1Z1 could find its niche again exclusively with PC players, as while it was previously announced that the game would eventually make its way to the PS4 and Xbox One, nothing has come of it yet. In any case, it’s clear that the Battle Royale audience isn’t going anywhere; H1Z1 just needs to harness it again.
H1Z1 is out now for PC.
