After a very public and very troubled Early Access launch just one week ago, Sony Online Entertainment's zombie-themed online survival game H1Z1 is stable, and improving user experience with each passing day.
H1Z1 went live the evening of Jan. 15. The initial launch was delayed by several hours, and when it did open for users, SOE's authentication infrastructure crashed, locking the majority of players out for the evening. The small disaster was made more public because Sony had enlisted more than two dozen Twitch streamers to be part of the initial marketing campaign. Those streamers were, by and large, left sitting on their hands.
Polygon is able to report that H1Z1 servers are stable as of last night. We were able to log in, play several sessions fairly lag-free and without crashes or disconnects of any kind. Gone are the strange graphical bugs from earlier in the week, shown in the video below.
Additionally, the issues with loot spawning inside containers, mentioned in our Overview video above, have been fixed. There's plenty of rotten chicken and pipe wrenches to go around. More patches to the loot system are expected later today.
Issues related to the game's monetization system still persist. Many players have complained that the airdrop system, which uses real-world cash to ferry supplies to players, is still an integral part of the game. The initial refund offered by SOE, allowing players who purchased the game to get their money back in full, expired on Monday.
Currently the team at H1Z1 is dealing with an influx of hackers who are using exploits in the game to terrorize and steal outside the usual game mechanics (which also allow them to both terrorize and steal). A large group of hackers was banned already this week, and the H1Z1 official Twitter account asks for players to report the hacker's name and server to h1z1hacker@soe.sony.com immediately.
