H1Z1's original mode, Just Survive, closes in October

Daybreak Game Company have announced that Just Survive, the game that was originally H1Z1's survival sandbox, will be shut down soon. They've already delisted the game from Steam, so no one new can buy it, but current owners can play until the servers close in October. H1Z1 will continue in its current battle royale form (previously called H1Z1: King of the Kill), after the two split off earlier in development.

A statement on their website reads in part: “after careful consideration, we’ve made the difficult decision to sunset Just Survive on Wednesday, October 24 at 11am PT.” (That’s 7pm BST.) “Unfortunately, we are no longer in a position to fulfill its greatness and the current population of the game makes it untenable to maintain.” According to offical numbers tracked by Steam Charts the game peaked at a thousand concurrent players over the past month.

“Just Survive was part of our first Early Access project, and we learned a great deal during its development,” Daybreak Game Company wrote. “We truly appreciate everyone’s commitment and your contributions throughout the development process. Our promise is to do better and learn from every experience along the way.”

When Rob Zacny wrote his early access Just Survive review, he felt it was too much of a grind, but highlighted how good interactions with other people could be. “The H1Z1 players I met were almost universally helpful and decent. There was the guy who stole my car full of gear, only to come back when I shouted at him, apologize, and give it back,” he recalled. “Another player kept trying to run me down with his car until I somewhat pathetically said, 'Hey c’mon man, it took me forever to get here.' Then he hopped out and started giving me pointers.”

Reading those stories made me a bit melancholic over this news even though I’ve never played Just Survive, since I doubt the same good-naturedness can carry over into the battle royale mode that lives on. Still, H1Z1 remains free to play on Steam.