Sony Online Entertainment’s John Smedley has begun posting updates on the H1Z1 forum over on Reddit, with details about the upcoming game. The developer is keeping an open engagement with fans of the game, revealing to them every aspect of the game’s development as it happens instead of hiding it behind closed doors.
According to Smedley, the studio held the game’s first meeting about monetizing the game yesterday, where they discussed what would, or wouldn’t be monetized in the upcoming survival-themed MMORPG.
Smedley has shared what the studio settled upon, and though these details are subject to change, here’s what’s going on with the game’s monetization:
1. Wearable items will be sold, as they are a "fair" revenue generator. Wearables include items such as ski masks, which can be looted by other players. According to Smedley, wearable items will not disappear upon death and will instead have a durability associated to them, so you'll be able to wear items that persist after death.
2. SOE will not be selling core survival items like guns, ammo, food, and water because doing so will make the game "suck".
3. There are no plans to sell boosts that impact #2.
4. Emote packs will be sold.
5. Character slots will also be sold as they are a fair revenue generator.
6. There is a possibility that they will sell loot crates (or keys to loot crates), much as DOTA 2 and Team Fortress 2 do crates.
It’s interesting to note that unlike The War Z and other games, H1Z1 will not be selling guns, ammo, food, and water, and resources necessary for the player to survive. In other words, H1Z1 will not be a “pay to win” game. We can get down with that.
Smedley asks for fans interested in the game to contribute their own ideas to the thread, so head on over to the thread if that’s something you’d like to do.