Dean Hall, the developer of the open world, apocalyptic, zombie survival game DayZ is hard at work currently on his latest project. Called Icarus, and being made by Hall's newest studio, RocketWerks, the player-vs-environment title had a trailer released a few weeks back. While initially, the game was going to be released in August, some new information has been put out there which says that it's going to be delayed.
In a post on the studio's Steam page, the DayZ creator said that a decision had been reached in which he felt the release day for Icarus would be pushed back to November. The reason for doing this is so the studio can work for longer on the game in order to make it "the best it can be" for players. However, the post did also state that the game would be getting an extended beta, which fans will be able to take part in from August 28.
More details have been provided about what the beta will entail. Breaking it down, it looks as though there will be a series of beta test weekends, starting at the end of next month. The first will introduce players to the world, with additional weekends focusing on exposing people to the harshness of the environment, such as storms, and arctic temperatures. October will bring the game's multiple factions, which will show players the "political lore." Finally, the beta will cap off in November with a prize giveaway and a celebration of the community that took part.
Much like its predecessor, Icarus will be an online PvE survival game much like The Forest or 7 Days to Die, only this time set in space. The official Steam page says it can be played solo or co-up with up to eight players. In the same vain as other games, players will need to gather resources, craft items and tools, build shelter, and hunt for food.
DayZ has been a popular game, and a big part of the current era of online survival titles. Bohemia Interactive was bought by Chinese company Tencent back in February, but the team reassured fans that it would continue to develop "independently." With Icarus now being pushed back a few months, it stands to reason that the finished product should arguably be a much stronger, more robust game. The increase in beta, and the prize giveaway at the end, shows that RocketWerks want to keep fans happy while they continue to work on the successor to the zombie game.
Icarus is currently being developed for PC, and will be released in November.
Source: Steam