A sequel to the genre-defining survival gameDayZappears to be in development, according to an internal Microsoft document shared publicly as part of its ongoing Activision Blizzard merger court proceedings.DayZfirst launched in alpha 10 years ago, helping to define a subgenre that’s since become incredibly popular and successful.DayZitself has had its ups and downs, and developer Bohemia Interactive may feel like it’s the right time to move on to a sequel.DayZis apost-apocalyptic multiplayer survival gamein which players must salvage food, weapons, and utility items to live while battling against a zombie horde and potentially other players, as well. The player-versus-player aspect ofDayZis a major component of its success. Players are allowed to immediately fight any other players they encounter in-game. Alternatively, they can communicate with other players and even work together. In that regard,DayZcaptures the themes of a zombie apocalypse with gusto.RELATED:A New Xbox Exclusive Game May Have Just Been RevealedNow developer Bohemia Interactive appears to be working on an unannounced sequel toDayZ. The confirmation was made via a document shared as part of the ongoing FTC vs. Microsoft court case, tied toMicrosoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard. The document, an updated profile for Bohemia Interactive is confidential and intended for internal use only. The profile includes a list of projects Bohemia is currently working on, which includes “Arma Reforged,Arma 4andDayZ 2.”
It must be clarified that no further information is provided about the development ofDayZ 2in the document. That leaves a lot of ambiguity regarding the state of the project. It could be something that Bohemia has only done exploratory work on. There may not even be developers actively working on it. It may have been shelved in favor of other Bohemia projects. Without more information,DayZfansshould probably keep their expectations in check.
Still, it makes perfect sense that Bohemia Interactive would want to make a sequel toDayZconsidering the previous game’s success and the popularity of the branding. It may not be coming any time soon, sinceARMA 4appears to be the studio’s current priority. But Bohemia Interactive is a very large studio, and it’s more than capable of working on multiple projects at once.
The development ofDayZhas not been officially confirmed by Bohemia Interactive. It’s possible a comment might be made in response to theMicrosoft document leak, but a full announcement will have to wait until Bohemia is ready. That could be later this year, in 2024, or in the years to come. It’s exciting news forDayZfans, but they’ll just have to remain patient.
