Admit it, the thought of a massively multiplayer online (MMO) game themed around zombies sounds awesome. That’s one of the reasons why Day Z, the very rough but totally engrossing mod for ARMA II has been getting all this love over the past few months. Anyway, it turns out there’s a new zombie MMO called The War Z in development from a relatively new development studio called Hammerpoint Interactive as well. So, yay!
According to the official press release, The War Z is set in a post-apocalyptic world, where the undead freely roam the land. As one of the many survivors, players must survive by any means necessary, be it using stealth, cunning or brute force.
You’ll have to carefully account for commodities like food and water along with weapons that can help you fend off the undead. Like most RPGs out there, players will be able to upgrade their skills, learn new abilities, and even buy better items using in-game cash/gold.
Here’s a quick rundown of the game’s features:
- Survival Horror MMO with entire game world build around a Zombie Apocalypse
- Two modes of play: Normal (downed characters can be revived after “cool down” period) and Hardcore (death will be permanent)
- Ability to switch between first-person (FPS) and third-person (TPS) perspectives
- Huge maps ranging between 200 and 400 square kilometers
- Meld of PvE (player versus environment) and PvP (player versus player) gameplay
- Unique social elements, including bounties, rewards, help requests, trap setting, etc.
- Safe Settlements: safe cities within the world where players can purchase, sell and store items as well as post notes for other players
- Single purchase, downloadable client with ability to play full game without subscriptions or requiring in-game transactions
- Full developer support with regularly scheduled, free content updates
- Dedicated public servers as well as private servers that can be completely self-managed in game client
The War Z will release sometime in 2012 exclusively for the PC.