Sony is soliciting community input regarding the monetization system for its upcoming zombie survival massively multiplayer online role-playing game H1Z1, according to a post from Sony Online Entertainment president John Smedley on Reddit.
Smedley wrote that SOE is open to a "serious dialogue" with players regarding how the company will monetize the title, which is slated to launch a month to six weeks from now.
"You will be surprised to hear we have intentionally left the decisions about what to monetize until we can hear from you," Smedley wrote in his post addressing fans. "This isn't some contrived thing..I'm being serious. It is a nearly blank slate."
Smedley noted that the game will cost $19.99 when it launches through early access, but will be free-to-play once the access period ends. He also set some parameters for community feedback, noting that SOE is not interested in selling in-game weapons — these will be obtained through crafting and exploration, as the studio will not be "selling power." He did note, however, that selling wearables in addition to being able to make them was a possibility.
"The game at it's core is about survival," he added. "Our preference is not to sell anything that can help with that. If this game is too hard for you, play another one. We don't want to give shortcuts for our core mechanic.
"We made this game because we love making games and entertaining our players is why we exist," he added. "That being said, we do need to make money."
H1Z1 was revealed earlier this week and is being developed to PlayStation 4 and Windows PC. The game sets players in the role an apocalypse survivor struggling in a world packed with zombies. The title will feature a day/night cycle and players will be able to influence their environment, such as lighting things on fire with torches. The MMO will be persistent and its servers will be able to host thousands of players at once, according to Smedley.