Popular 'Arma 2' Mod 'DayZ' To Become Its Own Standalone Title

By Robert Ottone | August 07 2012 9:30 AM

"DayZ," the popular "Arma 2" mod will be getting its own standalone game, according to Rocket's Development Blog. The mod sees players squaring off against the undead in the super-realistic world of "Arma 2," where a single bullet can be the difference between life and death. The initial game, "Arma," is heavily rooted in the reality of gunplay, something most first-person shooters aren't known for. One bullet can kill, and in the case with "DayZ," zombies are introduced into the mix to make things worse.

Day Z Official Tumblr

“DayZ,” the popular “Arma 2” mod will be getting its own standalone game, according to Rocket’s Development Blog. The mod sees players squaring off against the undead in the super-realistic world of “Arma 2,” where a single bullet can be the difference between life and death. The initial game, “Arma,” is heavily rooted in the reality of gunplay, something most first-person shooters aren’t known for. One bullet can kill, and in the case with “DayZ,” zombies are introduced into the mix to make things worse.

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Rocket stated "That's right, this is actually happening -- DayZ will be developed as a standalone game, with me as project lead, by Bohemia Interactive. This is the fairy-tale outcome for a mod that many would have said impossible four months ago."

What this means for the continued support of the "DayZ" mod itself is unknown at this point, however; Rocket went on to add "Development and updates of the mod will continue in parallel with the development of the game, so anyone who is playing the mod now will be able to continue to do so. The project will follow the Minecraft development model; fast iterations with the community alpha available for a heavily discounted price."

The mod reached over a million unique players only a few days ago, and the game creates a frantic and paranoid atmosphere. YouTube is flooded with videos about the mod, where players engage in nervous gunfights, remain watchful for zombies, and scavenge for supplies. It'll be interesting to see if the standalone game version of the mod will be adapted for console release or if it'll remain PC-only.