The H1Z1 virus devastated mankind and left nothing but death and destruction in its wake and a world nearly empty of human life where the remnants of humanity are in a fight against extinction against those infected with the virus.

It’s been 15 years since H1Z1 was first encountered and what’s left of the world before is overrun with the Infected. Humanity has been reduced to hiding in the shadows, searching desperately for food and water and anything that can help to survive even for another day. But the Infected aren’t the only dangers in the world. Everyday life in the Apocalypse means dealing with all kinds of wild animals and the brutality of other survivors, as well as finding your next meal and a safe place to sleep. It also means scavenging or crafting anything that can help you live just one more day.

In H1Z1 every minute of every day is borrowed time and fearing for your life… unless you are the Danger, but life can and will go on… even in circumstances as dire as this. Humanity has not given in to the Infected.

There are still pockets of humanity and the fight goes on!

The developers SOE are starting with what they “Middle America” – an “anywhere and everywhere” town but over time the world will grow until they have their own version of the U.S. after the death and destruction brought on during the H1Z1 epidemic. The massive world will have urban cities and desolate wide open places. All connected seamlessly.

The focus is on building a sandbox style of gameplay where players can build shelters out of resources in the world, where you can work together to make amazing fortresses complete with weaponry to help defend against both the Infected and other players. Players also have access to a very deep crafting system that can let players make a huge variety of awesome stuff, including weapons and things like Molotov cocktails, explosives.. and other fun surprises.

H1Z1 is a persistent MMO so there will be a thriving economy, which means that apart from crafting there will also be trading.

SOE will be giving players the tools to make their own towns, camps and defenses, and decide how to set up their base (which is in the world, not instanced). Player Studio will be included so expect player-created items to make their way into the game.

Of course all the social features you’ve come to expect from an SOE game (grouping, proximity voice chat, voice chat for your gang, and many other cool social features) will be present.