H1Z1 still swinging at PUBG and Fortnite – announces new map

Paul Cotton
An image of H1Z1's Outland map with fighting characters

H1Z1, the original battle royale to some, have announced plans to add another map to the game, perhaps in an attempt to reclaim some of its playerbase lost to PUBG and Fortnite.

The Outland Map will launch on August 1 for the PS4, with more info to come about its potential PC release soon. It will come as part of a huge, free expansion, H1Z1 enthusiasts will be pleased to hear.

H1Z1 not done yet

It is “by far the biggest free content update we’ve brought to the game,” a post on the H1Z1 website said. The map itself will feature greater terrain diversity, increased verticality, currently unnamed iconic landmarks and other places of interest.

One of the new cars coming in the new H1Z1 expansion…

The free DLC will also bring four new vehicles, two new weapons, 11 new outfits and much more. H1Z1 gave a preview of some of these features with a few images, one showing a powerful looking muscle car.

While news of a new map finally being added to H1Z1 is exciting, so far they have kept visuals of the map under wraps. The only images provided of Outland are the three within this article.

Sneak peak out H1Z1’s new map Outland…

New content is seemingly announced and added in a short space of time these days though, and with the expansion less than a week away from release, we can expect more teases during the next week.

Still going after PUBG and Fortnite

While H1Z1 retains a cult following, many feel it has become somewhat dated because, well, it has. It was initially released in early access mode on PC in early 2015. Games such as PUBG and Fortnite came a couple of years after and set a new standard for battle royale competition.

More recently, games like Apex Legends and Call of Duty’s Blackout have set the bar even higher with modern visuals and super fast-paced gameplay. However, PUBG and Fortnite have retained good player bases, especially the latter, something which H1Z1 failed to do to the same degree.

Outland is free

The new free map appears to be Daybreak Games’ – the developer of H1Z1 – attempt to convince old players to return to the classic battle royale or even tempt new ones to give it a go. A brand new map is a great way to peak the interest of players but only time will tell if it works.