General
What is DayZ Standalone?
What has become known as simply DayZ, this game is the continuation of creator Dean Hall's vision for his popular Arma 2 add-on now referred to as the DayZ Mod. Taken from the game's official description on the Steam Store:
The post-soviet country of Chernarus is struck by an unknown virus, turning the majority population into frenzied infected. Fighting over resources has bred a hostile mentality among survivors, driving what’s left of humanity to collapse. You are one of the few immune to the virus - how far will you go to survive? This is DayZ, this is your story. DayZ is an unforgiving, authentic, open world sandbox online game where each one of 60 players on a server follows a single goal - to survive as long as they can, by all means necessary. There are no superficial tips, waypoints, built-in tutorials or help given to you. Every decision matters - with no save games, and no extra lives, every mistake can be lethal. If you fail, you lose everything and start over.
What is the difference between the DayZ Mod and DayZ Standalone?
DayZ Standalone, as its name implies, is a wholly separate game built on its own foundations that are no longer reliant on the ArmA II bones which made the DayZ Mod possible. It is being developed alongside the creation of a new in-house game engine at Bohemia referred to as Enfusion, which will ultimately allow the vision of DayZ to be made reality in the long-term. It also includes an extensively reworked Chernarus map.
When will DayZ Standalone be available and will I have to purchase it again after release?
There is no confirmed release date as of yet. This will not likely be known until after the game hits the Beta phase of development, because unforeseen issues can cause timelines to shift dramatically.
If you purchase DayZ as an Early Access title, you will not need to purchase it again when it is released as a completed game. The cost of the game through Steam will start out low, and progressively increase to an average market price as the game nears completion.
Is it worth buying DayZ yet?
Simply put: no one can answer that for you. For many people, even in its alpha stage of development, DayZ is an incredible experience and jumping in right away means getting in on the fun early. However, if you require a fully polished title and aren't prepared to deal with the consequences of playing a game that's still undergoing heavy and complicated changes, then DayZ may not be right for you.
How will I get this game and on what platform(s)?
DayZ Standalone is intended to be a multi-platform title. Currently, the game is available only for Windows PC via digital distribution on Steam and will remain so until the game is closer to a state that is acceptable for mass consumption on additional platforms. The game is already confirmed for eventual release on both PlayStation 4 and XBox One.
What are the system requirements for DayZ Standalone?
The necessary hardware and software for the Windows PC version of DayZ are listed below, as found on the Steam Store page.
| MINIMUM | RECOMMENDED | |
|---|---|---|
| OS: | Windows 7 32-bit | Windows 7 / 8 / 10 64-bit |
| Processor: | Intel Dual-Core 2.4 GHz or AMD Dual-Core Athlon 2.5 GHz | Intel Core i5-2300 or AMD Phenom II X4 940 or better |
| Memory: | 2 GB RAM | 4 GB RAM |
| Graphics: | NVIDIA GeForce GT 440 or AMD Radeon HD 5850 or Intel HD Graphics 4000 with 512 MB VRAM | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 or AMD Radeon HD 7750 with 1 GB VRAM or better |
| DirectX: | Version 11 | Version 11 |
| Hard Drive: | 10 GB available space | 14 GB available space |
| Sound Card: | DirectX®-compatible | DirectX®-compatible |
Development
For a list of development-related resources including the sites referenced below, please see our Current Events page.
What is an "Early Access" release and what is my role in the game's development?
An Early Access release is designed to allow the development team to interact with a game's community during development in the form of discussion and feedback based on pre-release gameplay. Those who participate in this process are providing valuable statistics, crash reports, and other data to the developers; this allows for a larger scope than what would normally be possible with only an internal testing group. Early Access builds (generally the "Alpha" and "Beta" stages of development) will be plagued with bugs and work-in-progress content & mechanics, so it is critical for players to keep this in mind when considering feedback for the game. Those who want to assist the development team directly are encouraged to create tickets on the official Feedback Tracker. Tickets can be bug related, feature related, animation related, performance related, etc.
When is the next update and what will be in it?
Updates to the Stable branch occur when a major revision to the game has met the quality and playability standards necessary for mass consumption. Prior to release on that branch, updates will first be tested for a length of time on the Experimental branch to prevent any critical issues from affecting gameplay for the majority of users. There are not fixed intervals for the release of updates on either branch; instead, as soon as an update is ready it is made available to the public. For more information about what is contained in past updates, visit the Changelog page.
Updates to the Experimental branch are more frequent, and typically consist of small changes from build-to-build. These updates occur usually several times a week, and are usually focused on fixing specific issues with each release rather than introducing new content. For more information about the two branches, see the Experimental page.
DayZ isn't working for me! How do I fix it?
First, search the official forums and the DayZ Subreddit. Many issues are already known, and some have temporary or known fixes provided by the developer or other users. Also check the Feedback Tracker -- if your particular issue has not already been submitted, please add it there. Simply verifying the integrity of your cache in Steam will fix some issues, but for additional help you will want to seek out one of the aforementioned outlets.
I found a bug! What do I do?
Report it on the official Feedback Tracker. Make sure to read the how-to guide first. You can also post your issue on the official DayZ forums. In either case, be detailed and give as much information as possible and, if you are able, provide screenshots and/or video.
Gameplay
What is the difference between 1st Person and 1st/3rd Person servers?
1st Person, as its name implies, is restricted to the use of the first person perspective only. Servers labeled 1st/3rd Person have enabled the ability to use either the first person or third person camera perspectives. There is no third person only option for server configurations. For more information about their differences, visit the Servers page.
How do I change my in-game name?
Your default name will be the name you use for your computer (i.e. "Christopher"). On the main menu screen, hover your mouse over the name box in the lower-right corner; this will enable you to type in that box and set the name to whatever you wish.
What's the difference between Stable and Experimental?
For information about this topic, please see: Experimental.