This iconic Steam zombie survival game is about to merge with its DLC

DayZ is the epochal zombie survival game. Originally an Arma 2 mod before it made the jump to Steam in 2018, we’re still seeing over 50,000 people play it at any given time. If you’ve played any sort of survival game about crafting, gathering resources, finding weapons, and contending with other players, DayZ was one of the pioneers of the genre. Now, as we approach update 1.25, Bohemia Interactive says it’ll be folding the Livonia DLC into the base game, and current owners will get the expansion for free.

In an update from DayZ creative lead Adam Franců, we learn that the zombie game is merging the Livonia DLC, which adds a new map, with the core release in an effort to “streamline our portfolio and simplify our offerings in anticipation of future developments.” Franců also hopes that this change will see DayZ’s core and Livonia players integrate more, instead of both communities feeling separated.

There will be “a modest increase in price” to DayZ on Steam once Livonia is unified within it, but there’s also good news for current or prospective owners. Not only will DayZ’s new price be more economical than the $53.08 / £41.38 bundle, but anyone who only owns the original release will also get the Livonia DLC free of charge, which Franců calls “a token of our appreciation” at Bohemia Interactive.

So while DayZ’s overall price will go up with update 1.25, the new version that comes with Livonia will be cheaper than the current bundle on Steam. If you already own both, you’ll also be given the DayZ soundtrack for free.

The changes to packaging and pricing aren’t all that’s coming in 1.25 though, as we’ll also be getting around 100 minutes of brand-new ambient music, a rework to firearm sounds for shotguns, grenade launchers, and crossbows, and we’ll even see the distance at which you can hear other player actions rebalanced as well.

A new automated game client and server crash collection system is also on the way, which Bohemia hopes will help the team get a better idea of the overall stability of DayZ, provided you fill out the form if and when your game crashes.

Franců notes in their blog post that a comprehensive update on how Livonia will integrate with the base game is scheduled for Monday May 20, but an exact release date for 1.25 hasn’t been locked down and is “anticipated in the near future.” Instead, you can try the experimental 1.25 build right now to check out some of the upcoming gameplay changes.

If you’re thinking of heading back into one of PC’s biggest survival games off the back of this news, we’ve got all the DayZ base building tips you need alongside some of the best DayZ servers to get involved with.

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