Xbox One? "DayZ is definitely going to be a multi-platform title"

When asked at EGX whether DayZ was coming to Xbox One - having been announced for PlayStation 4 at Gamescom - creator Dean Hall answered:

"DayZ is definitely going to be a multi-platform title - that's the firm vision from Bohemia's standpoint. But we'll announce what all the other platforms are as we get to that point."

Hall didn't reveal many solid details about DayZ PS4 at Gamescom. Instead he talked more suggestively about Early Access projects such as DayZ, and how console makers were opening their eyes to them. Was he insinuating that DayZ would be an Early Access release on PS4?

"There's been no decision made about when DayZ releases," he told me at EGX, "and that would depend on what options Sony provides. I don't think they've said anything about... Everyone's said they're thinking about it [Early Access releases].

"There's a lot of problems with Early Access on PC that definitely are at the forefront of people's minds," he went on. "So when DayZ will release would depend very much on what Sony offers in terms of if it was going to do an Early Access program, what it looks like. Then also the state of DayZ - does it make sense to do it through that?"

The question of "when?" also depends on the DayZ graphics engine, which is being replaced in preparation of the console version(s). When that's done, at some point early next year, the team will have a far clearer idea of a roadmap.

"The during next year thing would depend very much on what do the consoles offer in terms of release strategies," Hall said. "A straight up retail release? It's not going to be next year, because there's just too much work remaining. It would be a very bizarre universe where there would be a 1.0 release of DayZ on consoles before PC."

I'll say.

There are broader, more fundamental changes that Bohemia needs to make to DayZ so that it feels right on console, too.

"I think there will have to be," Hall said. "But the aim will be to play on the strengths of those consoles."

He pulled out Skyrim as an example: the user interface was designed for console and the PC version suffered slightly because of it (although mods rectified that). "The PC was the loser in that," he said, "because the UI had to be dumbed down. That's a good example of something we absolutely do not want to happen."

Hall hopes the changes his team are making for DayZ on console - such as a redesigned UI - will also benefit the game on PC. "There will be fundamental differences," he nodded, "but we don't know what they are yet."