DayZ News

[p][/p][p]Hey Survivors,[/p][p]Spring has sprung, and what better way to usher in a new season than with a discount? DayZ and its bundles are now on sale with up to 50% off. The Steam Spring Sale will be running until the 26th of March.[/p][p]What is DayZ?  [/p][p]The post-soviet countries of Chernarus and Livonia are 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?[/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink]We are currently in the experimental phase for the 1.29 update, which is bringing much-needed performance improvements to the game. Not only that, DayZ's snow expansion, DayZ Frostline, is also getting the largest pack of winter clothing and better blending of terrain surfaces to eliminate the blocky textures. All in all, 1.29 is slated to be a larger update than we anticipated. You can read more with the experimental release article below.
[dynamiclink][/dynamiclink]What is DayZ Frostline? [/p][p]Sakhal harbors both beauty and danger, offering an experience DayZ fans have never seen before. As you explore, hunt, survive, and unfurl the mysteries hidden beneath the frost line. Unite with fellow survivors or forge your path alone; the choice is yours in this perilous winter wonderland. Preparation is the key to survival, and as the frost sets in, only those with Ice in their veins and Fire in their hearts will endure.[/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink]More comprehensive versions of DayZ in Deluxe and Cool Editions are also on sale with up to 50% and 40% off, respectively.[/p][p][/p][p]Our development for DayZ Badlands, the largest project that we have taken on so far, is coming along quite nicely. We are also ready to reveal some of the elements of this first-ever official desert map with more than 267km² of arid expanse in the borderland of Nasdara. So, stay tuned for the dev blogs coming very soon. Push that wishlist button and stay up to date![/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink]2026 is shaping up to be an interesting and ambitious year! DayZ. 1.29 is just around the corner, and we have prepared the DayZ in 2026 article along with the 1.29 release article.[/p][p]Stay tuned, bring your friends, and enjoy the sale.[/p][p]We love you.
The DayZ Team[/p]

[p][/p][p]Hello Survivors! We hope you are having a great start to the year. We are happy to announce that update 1.29 is now re-entering the experimental phase on PC.
We reverted this update last year to further improve and focus on the stability of the build. The long delay was unprecedented for us in recent years, and we appreciate all your patience and support during this period. But now that update 1.29 is back in the experimental cycle, let’s jump into what you can expect. Here are some of the notable improvements, changes, and additions to the game:[/p]

• [p]Torso wear with color variants: Long Coat, Military Sweater, Gulag Jacket, and Pilot Jacket[/p]
• [p]Long Haul Backpack with variants[/p]
• [p]Animal headwear: Fox Hat and Bear Hat[/p]
• [p]New footwear: Traditional Boots and Cold Operation Boots[/p]
• [p]Extension to the bunker on Sakhal and an additional entrance into the bunker[/p]
• [p]Better blending of terrain surfaces across all maps[/p]
• [p]Audio overhaul for assault rifles and pistols[/p]

[p]You can read more about this in the experimental release article we published last year, written by our creative lead, Adam.
[/p][p]There is some outdated information that we need to update regarding the central economy (CE) changes we tested last year—specifically for 1.30 and DayZ Badlands. In short, we were experimenting with a different approach to CE that was focused on the scarcity of firearms and gear. Thank you to everyone who provided feedback. These changes will not be present in the 1.29 experimental or stable release. However, if you would like to see these changes revisited in the future, please let us know via DMs on our socials or, even better, through the feedback tracker.[/p][p]We tackled the aspects of the game that cause performance issues, especially on high-population servers. The main problems were with how the game handled physics and player data; both were inefficient and heavy on performance. To fix these, we extended the experimental period to over two months. Thanks to our team and extensive, large-scale playtests, we identified key issues and implemented impactful optimizations that increased the servers' performance by 400%. In the beginning, servers under heavy stress tests were running at just 9 FPS. By the end, they reached 50 FPS (see the graphics below). You should now notice significantly less lag, fewer performance warnings, and smoother gameplay overall. If you’d like to learn more, check out this stream highlight with our programmer, Filip.[/p][p]The group respawn system has been updated, so spawning in the same location should happen less often and spawning will be more random. This is still a work in progress and we plan on making further balancing changes in the future. Your feedback is greatly appreciated, so please let us know your thoughts. In addition, there are several measures to address various exploits, some of which you can find with the changelog.[/p][p][/p][p]
Rejoice, Modders! We have added significant updates to our modding tools, specifically to our animation editor, as well as many more changes and improvements for the modding community. One important thing to address is that with the release of 1.29, some of the changes we’ve made to the game will affect mods and framework mods. This means many of them may not function properly at first. We are in close contact with several mod owners, and there should be test versions of their mods available on the Steam Workshop that are compatible with the experimental version. For server owners, we highly recommend reviewing your dependencies and checking in with the respective mod authors. This experimental period will serve as a buffer for the PC modding community, giving everyone time to identify and address any issues with mod compatibility.[/p][p] [/p][p]As with previous update cycles, the stable release is expected to follow 4–6 weeks after the experimental build's launch. We will communicate with you if there are any changes. The DayZ in 2026 article will come with the stable release, and we are planning to put out the DayZ Badlands Dev Blogs by end of March at the latest. In the meantime, we cordially invite you to test the experimental branch and share your feedback.[/p][p]Once again, we must extend our apologies for the long delays, periods of silence, and changes to our plans in recent months. This level of unpredictability has been unprecedented for DayZ and for us in the past few years. It has served as a much-needed reality check as we address technical debt, upcoming platform support, and, most importantly, the game's stability. We will try to do better and to communicate better.[/p][p]We love you and thank you for your continued support and infinite patience.
On behalf of the DayZ Team,
Lynn[/p]

[p][/p][p][/p][p]Survivors Rejoice! [/p][p]We're bringing two legendary titles together in the ultimate survival bundle. The perfect partners deserve the perfect theme, and there's no pairing more iconic than DayZ and the Dying Light series. [/p][p]We're thrilled to announce that we've partnered with Dying Light for an epic Steam sale. Now you can secure Dying Light 2 Stay Human, the original Dying Light, and DayZ in one powerful bundle at a massive discount. [/p][p]It's just in time for Valentine's Day. What better way to test your partnership than by surviving the apocalypse together? [/p][p]Get em all and rule the wasteland together before this offer ends on February 18th. [/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink]Dying Light [/p][p]First-person action survival game set in a post-apocalyptic open world overrun by flesh-hungry zombies. Roam a city devastated by a mysterious virus epidemic. Scavenge for supplies, craft weapons, and face hordes of the infected. [/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink]Dying Light 2 Stay Human: [/p][p]Humanity is fighting a losing battle against the virus. Experience a post-apocalyptic open world overrun by hordes of zombies, where your parkour and combat skills are key to survival. Traverse the City freely during the day, but watch the monsters take over during the night. Show no mercy, for it will not be shown to you. [/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink]DayZ [/p][p]How long can you survive a post-apocalyptic world? A land overrun with an infected "zombie" population, where you compete with other survivors for limited resources. Will you team up with strangers and stay strong together? Or play as a lone wolf to avoid betrayal? This is DayZ – this is your story.[/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p]

[p]Survivors,
Hope you had a lovely start to the year. January served as a quieter launchpad for the incredibly busy year ahead for the DayZ team. They have been hard at work on the 1.29 update, which will bring much-needed stability and performance improvements to the game. We will be re-entering the experimental phase in the coming weeks. We are preparing a stream, an exp release article, and a Q&A podcast with our project lead , where we will go over all the details about 1.29 and beyond. Additionally, a full wipe will be deployed once the stable build goes live. While we cannot yet confirm when the stable release will be, a safe rule of thumb is 4 to 6 weeks after the release of the experimental build. Of course, we will communicate any changes if they occur.[/p][p]For now, we are bringing back the Valentine’s DayZ event. It will run until February 19th on all stable servers across all platforms. The main items in the event are the valentine eye mask and the Cupid bolt, which is an incredibly powerful tool to have in your arsenal, as it cures all illnesses in-game (yes, including that one). The only catch is that you can only use the bolt on others, not on yourself. So, perish the thought of F11-ing with the bolt or shooting it in the air so that it lands on you, because that is not going to happen. [/p][p]However, we are still anticipating a form of controlled chaos. We will be closely monitoring how this impacts your normal gameplay, as we have not run this event on stable servers before. As stated above, the stable servers will be wiped once the 1.29 update goes live, so you will not keep these bolts.[/p][p]All we can say now is, “Go nuts!”
Warm regards,[/p][p]The DayZ Team[/p]

[p][/p][p]Good news, Survivors! [/p][p]We are ending the year on a banger of a sale. 
DayZ and its bundles are now at an all-time low of 55% off, as part of Steam’s Winter Sale! 
This will be running until the 5th of January. [/p][p]What is DayZ?  [/p][p]The post-soviet countries of Chernarus and Livonia are 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?[/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink]Holiday festivities are just around the corner. That means the annual in-game Christmas event is now on all official servers, on all maps, and all platforms! It will be running until the 8th of January. You might ask “What’s in the event?” The singing Christmas trees will be appearing in the villages and towns, bearing various gifts from food and warm clothing to more “lethal” gifts. There are more surprises scattered throughout the land. If you want spoilers, you can read about the event below.
[dynamiclink][/dynamiclink]DayZ Frostline is now 50% off, which is also an all-time low for our winter expansion. There is no better time than this to get it and elevate your holiday to the fullest. The Christmas event in Sakhal is a sight to behold navigating the winter land among the sprinkle of snow and traversing the ice shelves to get to Santa’s sleigh crashes.  [/p][p]What is DayZ Frostline? [/p][p]Sakhal harbors both beauty and danger, offering an experience DayZ fans have never seen before. As you explore, hunt, survive, and unfurl the mysteries hidden beneath the frost line. Unite with fellow survivors or forge your path alone; the choice is yours in this perilous winter wonderland. Preparation is the key to survival, and as the frost sets in, only those with Ice in their veins and Fire in their hearts will endure.[/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink]Deluxe Edition & Cool Edition More comprehensive versions of DayZ in Deluxe and Cool Editions are also on sale with up to 50% and 35% off, respectively.[/p][p]
Winter is a wonderland for some, but there are others like us who yearn for a warmer time. And yearn we will, for DayZ Badlands is coming in 2026, bringing the first-ever official desert map in a hotter climate. Stay tuned for the dev blogs and hit that Wishlist button![/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink]But winter is here to stay! The end of the year and holiday festivities are around the corner. It is the time to hunker down in front of your PC and avoid the cold outside by surviving in DayZ. If you already have DayZ and DayZ Frostline, it’s also the best time to reach out to your friends to get in on a great deal, or you can always gift it for Christmas. [/p][p]All in all, let us pat ourselves on the back with a long session of well-deserved gaming after a long year. Wishing you a lovely holiday season. [/p][p]Big love, 
The DayZ Team [/p]