After twelve long years, 7 Days to Die will finally leave Early Access in June 2024. While this change was highly anticipated, many doubt whether it is the right move for the game at this time.
As someone who has played many Alphas of the game, I can say that 7 Days to Die has gone through a lot of changes compared to where it started 12 years ago. The 1.0 release comes with big art changes (I’m excited about all the new animals they keep teasing in the 7 Days to Die Discord) and a ton of optimizations. However, even with these positive changes, is it enough to justify leaving Early Access?
Everything you need to know about 7 days to die 1.0
Fans were expecting Alpha 22 in 2024, but instead, we’re getting version 1.0 and an official release. This is something I really didn’t think I’d see in the next few years, so it’s a big surprise, but I’m not sure how enjoyable it is.
Honestly, this change seems pretty rushed, even though Richard Huenink, the co-founder of Fun Pimps, states that they have always planned for Alpha 22 to be version 1.0. One Reddit user, Alt_SWR, said: “I mean, sure, technically it’s leaving EA, but it’s not really, if you ask me.” Many MAJOR features will be missing from version “1.0”.
For many of us, this is exactly where the negative feelings come from, in addition to comments about the Alpha Exodus: The path to YouTube video 1.0 being off. That’s never a good look.
Related: Best 7 Days to Die Mods
Will there be many improvements? Yes. But many of the big changes that have been promised for years will only come after launch. As a game that won’t receive the oft-delayed Bandits until Q2 2025 and a story mode until Q4 2025, it’s really asking a lot of its fans, especially with the price increase to $45.
Do I think it’s worth the price increase? Not really, at least not at launch 1.0, when many of the Kickstarter goals still had to be met. Especially when you consider how many times the game has been on sale, almost every few months over the past year alone. If you’re looking to start playing 7DYD, then your best option is to pick up the game on its final 76% sale at April 22 to April 29.
If you already have the game, nothing will really change for you. You can continue exploring Navezgane as you have done until now. TFP also promises that we’ll be getting a bunch of free updates along with DLC and expansions, which I’ll have to see before I can form an opinion. I’ve been playing this game for years and I really hope it’s positive.
7 day roadmap to die
Related: 7 Days to Die Guide for Beginners
The 7 Days to Die roadmap explains everything that will happen after the 1.0 release. TFP says it will commit to the deadlines, although some delays are possible. From experience, the community doesn’t have much confidence in these timelines and TFP will have to work hard to prove us wrong.
- Storm brewing in the fourth quarter of 2024 – This update will add a major overhaul to the weather system and biome progression, as well as adding a wardrobe system. But the most important part coming with the update is the cross-play feature, which allows new console players to connect with their PC (or other console) friends.
- A new threat in the second quarter of 2025 – An official promise to finally add the Bandits, the long-awaited NPCs, to the game. They’ve been delayed so many times that I’m crossing my fingers that this time it’s the real deal. Additionally, 7DYD will introduce an event system and a new mission type. As someone whose main role on my team is completing quests for merchants, I’m very excited to learn about the new one.
- The way forward in the fourth quarter of 2025 – The path will take us to even more types of missions, but the most important thing is that we will have a story mode. The game has had the foundation for a story created for so long, and it will be amazing to see it finally fleshed out.
The roadmap is promising, but it’s also bittersweet that many of these features won’t be available in the 1.0 release. I will continue to play for many years, but the developers will have to work hard to justify the new prices of the game to new fans who want to play it.
If you want to stay up to date with all the new changes to the game, check out the 7 Days to Die Patch Notes in Pro Gaming Guides.