DayZ Creator Announces Free-To-Play Survival Game Icarus

The creator of DayZ -- and arguably, the survival genre as a whole -- has a new game coming out next year. Dean Hall's Rocketwerkz has announced Icarus, a sci-fi free-to-play survival game where players will act as prospectors, mining a planet for its resources, building shelter, and trying to survive on a planet where food and oxygen are scarce but predators are not.

The twist of Icarus is that players can occasionally head back to an orbital station. There they'll be able to research new technologies they can take with them on their next trip down to the planet's surface. The station only passes by at various times, limiting the window for transit, so if you miss one cycle, you'll have to find a way to manage until the next. As Hall puts it in a press release:

"Initial drops might last for 30 minutes as you get familiar with the planet, but eventually they could span multiple days with a crew of friends working together. The pacing of session-based missions will help put the focus back on a tense core survival experience."

Joining Hall on development is Brian Hicks, who took over as creative director on DayZ after Hall left Bohemia Interactive to form Rocketwerkz and was most recently serving in the same role for InXile Entertainment. Given Hall's track record at completing games -- like DayZ (launched after he left the company), Ion (cancelled), and Stationeers (in early access for 2.5 years) -- it might be good for him, and Icarus, to have someone else on board who can actually see a project through to its completion.

Icarus is slated for launch sometime in 2021. You can learn more about the game on its website or Steam page.