H1Z1 is getting a facelift of sorts, with a new “re-formed dev team” and a new name, Z1 Battle Royale. The title is also getting quite a few changes to the game in terms of balance, as well as a major update to the way matchmaking works and how players can find and launch games as quickly as possible.
H1Z1 does still have an active player base, however the numbers are just not there to ensure that all matches are filled instantly. To handle this problem, Daybreak Games will be capping the lobby wait time to 135 seconds, with the matches starting at that point as long as there are two or more players waiting. The fewer the players in the game at the beginning, the smaller the starting zone will be, so players aren’t running around the whole map looking for their opponents.
The way spawn locations work will also be changed, with players no longer able to choose where they spawn in solos, duos, or fives. However, the dev team has changed spawn locations to ensure that looting is decent at the start of the match. The in-game time has also been set to mid-afternoon and the weather will be sunny 90% of the time, making it easier to spot enemies.
The last major change comes to the types of matches played, with each match now counting as a ranked match. This means that all players will be rewarded even if there’s only a handful of players, and matchmaking will look to put players of equal skill together based on account level.
