From Pioneer to Also-Ran: The Story of H1Z1’s Decline and Rebranding

H1Z1 holds a special place in battle royale history as one of the first standalone titles in the genre, bursting onto the scene in 2015 and amassing over 1.5 million players by mid-2016. However, in the span of just two years, a catastrophic drop-off in players led to developers Daybreak Games rebranding the game as “Z1 Battle Royale” (Z1BR) in a desperate attempt to stay relevant. What went so wrong for this once trailblazing BR? Let’s analyze H1Z1’s downfall and whether the rename to Z1BR can return it to glory.

The Birth and Early Buzz of H1Z1

H1Z1 began life as an ambitious zombie-survival MMO before pivoting to focus on its nascent battle royale mode, then named “King of the Kill.” As one of the first standalones in BR, H1Z1 garnered significant excitement and smashed records, peaking at over 150,000 concurrent players on Steam in May 2016:

With its fast-paced gunplay and high skill ceiling, H1Z1 established itself as a rising esport. However, the good times couldn’t last.

H1Z1 Rapidly Fades in Fortnite’s Shadow

The arrival of Fortnite and PUBG in 2017–boasting modern graphics, polished gameplay, and strong cross-platform support–changed the BR landscape. H1Z1’s player counts went into freefall as fans flocked to the hot new titles:

In a desperate move, Daybreak tried to force H1Z1 as an esport with the “H1Z1 Pro League” in 2018. However, dismal viewership led to its cancellation before Season 1 even ended. H1Z1 was clearly no longer at the forefront of BR innovation.

Rebranded as Z1BR…But Was It Too Little, Too Late?

With H1Z1 shedding almost 95% of its player base in just over a year, Daybreak pivoted to Z1BR in September 2018–complete with quality-of-life fixes, a new dev team, and reimagined map “Z1.”

Initial results seemed promising, with over 80K concurrent players at launch indicating renewed interest After the honeymoon period however, Z1BR settled to a modest 1,000-3,000 average players; a far cry from former highs but stable.

While the Z1BR rebranding did stem the bleeding, H1Z1 failed to leverage its first-mover advantage and keep pace with deeper-pocketed competition. Still, given Z1BR’s small but dedicated player base, Daybreak may have pulled this pioneer back from the brink.

H1Z1 Paved the Way, But Didn’t Build for the Future

As an avid early H1Z1 player myself, I mourn its fall from the top of the mountain. However, the warning signs were there…

Rather than actively evolving H1Z1 to address early player fatigue, Daybreak took a reactive approach, trying to reinvent the game after it already bled players rather than staying ahead of the curve. While Fortnite innovated rapidly, H1Z1 stewed in slow, incremental updates.

Make no mistake–H1Z1’s mark on history is indelible as BR trailblazers. But being first isn’t always enough on its own…you need vision to build on early success rather than relying on past glory to carry you indefinitely. H1Z1 chose the latter path, and is now merely an admirable ancestor to BR’s new wave rather than the heir apparent many expected after its meteoric early rise.