H1Z1 is currently in Early Access on Steam. With a fully transparent approach to game design and development here at SOE, we want to transform the way our players interact and participate with our games. H1Z1 Early Access is your chance to experience and make a difference in H1Z1 as it evolves throughout the development process.

The H1Z1 development team will continue to create new features and may make significant changes based on the needs of the game. Those who choose to purchase Early Access should anticipate an evolving feature set, bugs, incomplete content, missing features, and potentially game breaking issues. Early Access is designed for those wishing to support the ongoing development of H1Z1 and be a part of shaping its future.

Enter a world that has been overrun by zombies and fellow survivors since the H1Z1 virus outbreak. Fight for your life against the infected and against the brutality of others as you attempt to live and see another day. Every moment is borrowed time with one question to answer… Will You Survive?

H1Z1 is set to release on Steam Early Access on January 15th, 2015 for PC. The game is also expected on Playstation 4. Learn more about the game at www.h1z1.com

If you’ve been patiently waiting for SOE’s DayZ killer, John Smedley has some really good news for you today.

Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) today announced that the much anticipated post-apocalyptic zombie survival MMO, H1Z1, will be available via Steam Early Access on January 15, 2015 for $19.99 (USD). Additional details on Early Access can be found in SOE President John Smedley’s community post: http://www.reddit.com/r/h1z1/comments/2op00t/h1z1_early_access_release_date_january_15th_2015/.

Players can tune into the H1Z1 Twitch channel, http://www.twitch.tv/h1z1, for special AMA livestream today at 3:30 p.m. PST to learn more about Early Access.

H1Z1 is currently in development and scheduled for a Steam Early Access release on January 15th, 2015. Learn more about the game at H1Z1.com.

Can’t decide what to  be for Halloween? The folks at SOE have got you covered. Throughout this week, we’ll be highlighting a series of tutorials that will show you how to turn yourself into a character from your favorite SOE MMO. In the videos, makeup artists from KBZ FX special effects show the step-by-step process to become an H1Z1 zombie, Firiona Vie from EverQuest, a dark elf from EverQuest Next, a DC Universe Online inspired leopard, or a member of one of PlanetSide 2‘s Empires.

Bring out your inner Zombie this Halloween by following this easy make-up guide.

Learn more about SOE’s growing collection of games at www.soe.com

For nearly 20 years, Sony Online Entertainment has been a driving force in the PC gaming landscape. With their industry changing EverQuest series, not to mention their innovative marketing strategies, SOE has been a company many gamers (myself included) grew up with. While some of their games have been less than perfect at launch, there may be no company more dedicated to the long-term support of their products than SOE. For example, development of the original EverQuest has been continuous since 1999 and includes the releases of 20 expansions up to this point.

Although SOE has clearly been a part of the overall Sony family, they’ve also been mostly segregated from Sony’s main gaming strategy as their platform of focus has been PC. Well my friends, by all indications, that might be changing very soon. It’s no secret that SOE is working on a trio of very promising games. EverQuest Next, EverQuest Next Landmark, and H1Z1 are all titles that have PC gamers pretty excited about the near future. Rumors have swirled for years of SOE porting their popular PC games to PlayStation consoles. You may remember SOE even created EverQuest Online Adventures exclusively for the PS2. While SOE does currently have a few titles currently or previously on console, fans have been begging and pleading for years for games like EverQuest and PlanetSide to be ported.

It is our prediction that as part of Sony’s strategy for PS4 we will see an official announcement that all of SOE’s upcoming games will also be released on PS4 as F2P titles. It makes perfect sense that along with the growing collection of free games that come with Playstation Plus, gamers have an additional set of options to choose from that doesn’t change month to month. With 4 major titles all being pushed with a F2P pricing structure, Sony’s PS4 could have an interesting way to diversify itself from the competition.

H1Z1 – A zombie survival horror game that could be set to become a DayZ killer. The size of the playable area is massive in scale, much larger than Chernarus+ in DayZ

EverQuest Next Landmark – With the creation of EverQuest Next going at full speed now, SOE has created a second game based on the land destruction and creation mechanics found in the upcoming MMO. EverQuest Next Landmark offers an intriguing alternative to the massively popular Minecraft. PlayStation 4 could win big with a free and full featured alternative to Minecraft.

EverQuest Next – There’s no denying the fact that EverQuest basically created an entire industry. Without EverQuest we likely would never have seen World of Warcraft (or that excellent South Park episode based on the game). While EverQuest 2 didn’t manage to capture as wide an audience, many former players of the longstanding series are quite excited for the new take on the  MMO that SOE has planned for their reboot of the series.

PlanetSide 2 – The PlanetSide 2 engine has worked as a framework for all 3 of SOE’s upcoming titles. PlanetSide 2 features futuristic battles on a massive scale. Considered by some to be a Battlefield killer, PlanetSide 2 has had a significant post-launch development cycle that has allowed SOE to optimize the engine and game.

With all of the additional services and accessories that go alongside buying a new console, investing in a new console can be pretty expensive. Imagine a world where gamers can buy a PS4 and immediately have free access to games that rival WoW, DayZ, Minecraft, and Battlefield. Alongside Riot, SOE has pioneered and revolutionized the F2P game industry. While many companies live and die by how they market “free”, SOE has thrived on their take on the business model. With millions of gamers on PC already playing their games, Sony has a leg up on the competition because they have a team that knows what works (and what doesn’t). SOE could become a developer known best for their PS4 titles overnight, and Sony themselves could have a major boost in the public relations department by offering even more games with their instant library strategy.

For E3 2014, we’ll hopefully see some interesting things coming from SOE. At the very least PC players have a whole lot to look forward to.

To learn more about all of SOE’s current and upcoming games, visit http://www.soe.com/home

When they were introduced to the player base, ProSiebenSat.1 rubbed a lot of players across the world in a very wrong way. The integration of ProSiebenSat.1 was a rather controversial issue that didn’t win SOE a lot of fans on either side of the ocean.

According to John Smedley himself , SOE will be taking back control over the upcoming H1Z1 game by handling the European market in-house.

We are handling Europe ourselves with h1z1

— John Smedley (@j_smedley) June 9, 2014

Today, Sony Online Entertainment released the brand-new #MyEvilWays E3 trailer for H1Z1, showcasing how far you’ll need to go to make it through the zombie apocalypse. Will your sense of right and wrong remain a core part of who you are, or will you turn on those that try to help? Your choice.

It’s pretty likely that we’ll be seeing a lot more from SOE at E3 2014. Stay tuned for the latest breaking info from E3 all week long.

Did you happen to miss the 12 hour H1Z1 Twitch.tv stream that SOE held on Tuesday? Well fear not friend, we’ve got the highlights ready for you to consume. In this highlight we watch as the game goes from dawn to dusk two times around. Behold the torch in all its glory!

Be sure to visit H1Z1.com too!

Click the headline to check out the video.

Did you happen to miss the 12 hour H1Z1 Twitch.tv stream that SOE held on Tuesday? Well fear not friend, we’ve got the highlights ready for you to consume. In this highlight from the stream you’ll learn a lot about the development process behind the game.

Be sure to visit H1Z1.com too!

Tomorrow, Sony Online Entertainment will be holding a special H1Z1 12 Hour Stream Event at its headquarters in San Diego from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.. The focus of the stream will be building a feature the community requests for H1Z1. In addition, from noon – 5 p.m., SOE will opens its doors to players interested in meeting the team and playing an early build of H1Z1

Holy **** 12 hours!?!?! Be sure to tune-in (nearly) any time tomorrow to check out what SOE has in store for us. Is it just me or is this game shaping up to be one of the most promising titles of 2014?

Head over to http://www.twitch.tv/h1z1 to watch the stream when it’s live.