DayZ creator says game should arrive before April, expresses anger at The War Z

Dean Hall, creator of the open-world zombie shooter DayZ originally built as a mod for Bohemia Interactive's PC shooter Arma 2, confirmed that his game is on track for a release before April, according to an AMA on Reddit.

"Yes I think so, but anything could happen and usually does," Hall wrote in response to a question about the April release window. "We'll know more when the results of the tech test are out. Any dates before then would be pure speculation, and my last speculation didn't work out so good."

In late November, Hall announced that the original 2012 release could be delayed because "under the hood so much is being completely rewritten" in the Arma 2 game engine. He revealed in late December that public reaction to the delay had depressed him and made him think about "not being involved in the project."

Part of his recent frustration has to do with The War Z, a similar game from Hammerpoint Interactive.

"I'm quite hurt personally because anyone can see how similar the words are, and while the average gamer knows the difference individual people don't."

"I am angry about The War Z," he wrote. "I'm very angry. I'm quite hurt personally because anyone can see how similar the words are, and while the average gamer knows the difference individual people don't. I've had family members/close friends mistake the difference and confront me about what they believed was unethical behavior they thought I was making. I really don't think anyone can understand just quite how exasperated that can make you feel when you've gambled everything on something, put your whole self and reputation on the line. So it hasn't made my life very pleasant and I disagree entirely with the conduct and how consumers have been treated."

The targeted pre-April release will come after a beta testing phase. Hall also addressed that on Reddit, managing expectations and saying he doesn't quite know what to expect.

Hall also teased future content slated "for the next 12 months at least, probably beyond that."

For more on Hall's creation, be sure to check out our DayZ feature from last year.