DayZ surpasses its concurrent player count record for a second time this year
Following the release of a recent patch, zombie survival title DayZ has reached new heights, peaking at just under 70,000 concurrent players on Steam almost a decade after its standalone launch.
The details:
As spotted by PC Gamer, DayZ reached a record-breaking high of 69,449 concurrent players on Sunday (via SteamDB), a noticeable rise from the previous peak of 63,046 set in January. When the game first separated from its Arma 2 mod in 2012, it averaged around 45,000 players at any given time before declining over the years. Its popularity began to rise again in recent years as content creators began picking up the game.
The game's recent 1.23 update introduced a number of new additions and changes, including new skyboxes and clothing items, revised spawning mechanics, an overhaul of Chernarus' most dangerous airfield, and the return of the.308 DMR, a throwback to the days of the Arma 2 mod. Along with the update, there was a "wipe" that resets players' gear to allow for a fresh start across all official servers.
It's also worth noting that the game is also available on Xbox and PlayStation consoles, with the recent patch arriving on both platforms at the same time, suggesting that the title's total player count is likely even higher. Developer Bohemia Interactive also has plans for a DayZ tenth anniversary celebration as well as a Christmas celebration, so we may see another player spike soon.
More gaming news:
Modern Warfare III is currently the lowest-rated Call of Duty game in franchise history. The FPS title has received criticism for its short campaign and reuse of content from last year's MW2.
Amazon has confirmed 180 job cuts in its gaming division as it closes its Crown Twitch channel and focuses on its Prime Gaming service. This is the second time this year that layoffs have impacted the company's Game Growth team.
