‘7 Days To Die’ Bringing Zombie Survival To PS4, Xbox One Via Telltale

The open world zombie survival genre is growing by one more on consoles this summer. 7 Days to Die has been announced for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on Thursday after spending the last two years as a Steam Early Access game for PC.

7 Days to Die will hit the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One as digital and retail release this June for $29.99. Developer The Fun Pimps parternered with Telltale Games’ publishing arm to bring the game to consoles with the assistance of developer Iron Galaxy Studios.

The publishing deal allows for pre-orders to be bundled with character skins from Telltale’s The Walking Dead series. There will be five skins in all with Lee Everett and Michonne confirmed so far.

For those unfamiliar, 7 Days to Die puts its own spin on the survival game genre. The game is voxel based allowing for a completely destructible environment and for players to build their own structures. Unlike some other games in the genre, these structures are governed by gravity and physics. This prevents the creation of huge platforms held up by a single pillar, for example, and requires buildings to be somewhat structurally sound.

The other twist is how 7 Days to Die handles zombies. They are less active during the day than at night when they are faster and more aggressive. This forces players to spend their day scavenging, looting, harvesting, mining, and building while deciding how best to survive the coming darkness. Additionally, the zombies get more difficult with each successive night.

The game is set in a post-apocalyptic Arizona town named Navezgane. However, players can choose to play on procedurally-generated maps as well. There are different kinds of biomes to encounter from desert to snow.

Multiplayer is supported in 7 Days to Die as well. The online multiplayer modes will be revealed prior to launch, but local split-screen play is confirmed thus far. The PC version of the game supports multiplayer from player-hosted servers with players deciding whether to cooperate or compete to survive.

The game has received very positive reviews from players on Steam since its release into Early Access. The fact that it is coming to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One is great news as both consoles have a dearth of games in the open-world survival category outside of Minecraft. The Xbox One currently has ARK: Survival Evolved in the Game Preview Program, which brings a dinosaur twist to genre, and that is mostly it. Promised releases of DayZ and H1Z1 have yet to materialize, though the latter is still targeting a summer release on consoles and PC.

“Telltale Publishing seeks to bring the best and most innovative games in their genres to new audiences. 7 Days to Die has already thrilled over 1.5 million PC users worldwide, and we’re delighted to bring this game from the PC to consoles everywhere,” said Steve Allison, SVP Publishing at Telltale, Inc. “The Fun Pimps have redefined what the survival genre can be with unrivalled world-building, crafting, and character growth. With overwhelmingly positive user feedback for the PC version, we can’t wait to expose a brand new audience to this exceptional and terrifying sandbox experience.”

“7 Days to Die is a labor of love for our small group of games industry veterans. After a highly successful Kickstarter campaign, we’re grateful to have had a wonderful response from our active community of Steam Early Access users; now, our partners at Telltale Publishing are enabling us to get the game in front of new survivors across the globe” said Richard Huenink, Co-Founder of The Fun Pimps. “We’re very excited that Telltale brought us together with the folks at Iron Galaxy, to build the game collaboratively and specifically for consoles. They have a stellar track record, and have been incredible partners in ensuring a perfect translation that includes new features and content not seen in the PC version.”

[Image via Telltale Publishing]