Dean Hall interested in bringing DayZ Standalone to PS4
Has already been approached by Sony and Microsoft, but is focusing on the PC version for now.
Cult favourite massively multiplayer curio DayZ could be coming to PS4, according to the mod's creator, Dean Hall, who's currently working on a standalone version of the Arma 2 mod.
When I asked Hall whether console manufacturers Sony and Microsoft had approached him about putting DayZ on an upcoming console he replied, "Yeah, we talked to both of them. But, as I'm sure you're aware, Sony lets you self-publish and they don't make you pay for updates. Microsoft requires you to have a publisher. They have no digital distribution strategy and they require you to pay $10,000, or whatever it is, for updates."
"What about Sony, then?" I asked.
"Oh, absolutely. We like them. I like what I saw on the PS4," Hall said. "I like what I saw on the Xbox in a lot of cases as well. I'm not s***ting on them. I'm kind of hopeful that Microsoft has just forgot to talk about its indie support. Maybe I'm being a bit naive."
So if both parties are interested and Hall is happy with Sony's current approach towards indie devs, why hasn't he signed on yet? The answer is simple: his main priority is getting the PC version of DayZ Standalone up and running first before he can start worrying about ports.
When asked about developing for PS4, Hall replied, "That's definitely something we'd look at, but we have to do the PC version first. Once we get the alpha out, that's a good time for us to run it up on a [PS4] dev kit and see what happens."
Hall seemed pretty optimistic about console ports in general. "With this new generation of architecture it's not a problem for us," he explained. "It's totally achievable. The only barriers are the ones console manufacturers put up in the way of indie devs. That's the only barrier now. I'd love to see this on Xbox Live. I'd love to see it on PS4."
And what of Wii U?
"I don't know. I haven't really looked into it much. I doubt it," Hall replied.
Hall has not revealed a release date for DayZ Standalone, but when pressed for an update he stated, "It's very close. We're at a point where we need people to play it and tell us whether it's good or not."