SOE talks early monetization plans for its zombie survival MMO H1Z1

Cosmetic items, mostly

Following its big gameplay reveal of H1Z1, Sony Online Entertainment has detailed what the developers have come up with so far for the PS4 and PC open-world zombie survival game’s monetization strategy. SOE president John Smedley gave a breakdown on reddit:

• Wearables will be sold, but players can “find and craft a lot of stuff.” If someone kills and loots another player’s gear, they’ll be able to wear it for a few deaths. “Station Cash wearables won’t degrade at all.”
• Guns, ammo, food, water, and boosts impacting these won’t be sold.
• Extra emotes beyond “the basics,” which will be free.
• Character slots.
• Crates containing “random cool stuff from the store” can be found in H1Z1. “We’re considering letting you see what’s in them before you buy a key (ala Dota 2.). This idea isn’t fully locked yet.”

These concepts are of course subject to change and the team is taking feedback. So far, so good. Even if I’m not interested in playing existing open-world zombie games right now — much less new titles along the lines of H1Z1 — I can appreciate the transparency shown here.

We had our first monetization meeting yesterday [reddit]