14 DAY TRIAL // John Smedley, the leader of Sony Online Entertainment, has made it clear that the features of the microtransaction system that will support the upcoming H1Z1 will only be decided once the developers manage to get some information from the player base about their own visions of the future.
The company has been ready to offer a lot of info on the new MMO since it was officially revealed and the executive says that at the moment the only clear decision is that there are no plans to offer weapons for sale, because that would create a clear rift between those who are willing to pay and those who will only engage with free content.
H1Z1 will be a zombie-powered experience that will see gamers try to survive in a large virtual world where they are unsure about the way other players will react to their presence.
Smedley states on Reddit that, “You will be surprised to hear we have intentionally left the decisions about what to monetize until we can hear from you. This isn’t some contrived thing.. I’m being serious. It is a nearly blank slate. So the floor is open for ideas.”
Anyone who has feedback to offer to the team can head to the official forums in order to engage in conversation with their fellow gamers.
The thread from Smedley adds, “The game at it’s core is about survival. Our preference is not to sell ANYTHING that can help with that. If this game is too hard for you play another one. We don’t want to give shortcuts for our core mechanic.”
Apparently, most wearable items that will only have a cosmetic impact will be sold in an official shop, but they can also be crafted by gamers who roam around to get access to all the resources they need.
The CEO has also acknowledged that H1Z1 would not have existed if DayZ had not been a success, both in its mod and its standalone form, but he has also expressed a belief that his future MMO will offer a more complete survival experience.
Gamers will be able to create content using the Player Studio that SOE has made and then share it with the development team to expand the world of the title.
SOE plans to launch H1Z1 as soon as possible, which probably means that an Early Access launch will take place in the summer of this year, with an attached price of 19.99 dollars or Euro.