군시온 Eliyahu Ezra - Gaming Blog

 Introduction: A Genre That Took Over the World

The Battle Royale (BR) genre has dominated the gaming industry for nearly a decade, from Fortnite's cultural explosion to Call of Duty: Warzone's competitive surge. But before these titans took the stage, there was a game that quietly laid the foundation for it all: H1Z1: King of the Kill.

Often overlooked and now largely forgotten, H1Z1 was the first commercially released Battle Royale game, and it served as the breeding ground for mechanics that would later be perfected in PUBG. This blog will explore the origin, rise, and fall of H1Z1: King of the Kill, its connection to Brendan Greene (aka PlayerUnknown), and how this paved the way for today’s global BR phenomenon.

Part 1: The Early Sparks – Battle Royale as a Mod

🔸 The Birth in Modding Communities

The idea of "Battle Royale" was not born in a corporate boardroom but in the modding scene of hardcore military simulators like ARMA 2 and ARMA 3. Inspired by the Japanese dystopian film バトル・ロワイアル (Battle Royale, 2000), a budding developer named Brendan Greene—better known by his online alias PlayerUnknown—created a mod where:

“100 players are dropped into a massive map with one goal: be the last one standing.”

This ARMA mod was a mix of tension, realism, and player-driven chaos—the perfect foundation for the future BR genre.

Part 2: H1Z1: King of the Kill – The First Standalone Battle Royale

🔸 Origins

In 2015, Sony Online Entertainment (later rebranded as Daybreak Game Company) developed a zombie MMO called H1Z1. Due to technical and creative divergence, the game was split into two separate titles:

🧟 H1Z1: Just Survive – Focused on base-building, PvE, and survival.

⚔️ H1Z1: King of the Kill – Focused purely on PvP Battle Royale gameplay.

Crucially, Daybreak hired Brendan Greene as a consultant to shape King of the Kill using his experience from ARMA mods.

🔹 Gameplay and Appeal

Released in Early Access in 2016, King of the Kill featured:

• Large-scale PvP (up to 150 players).
• Solo, duo, and team-based BR modes.
• A shrinking safe zone.
• Loot-focused early game followed by intense late-game showdowns.

The simplicity and chaos attracted streamers, YouTubers, and competitive players alike. At its peak, King of the Kill was one of Twitch’s most streamed games.

Part 3: The Missing Crown – Why H1Z1 Failed to Lead

Despite its popularity, H1Z1: King of the Kill failed to maintain momentum. Here's why:

🚨 Problem📉 Impact🐛 Bugs and exploits Frustrated competitive players

😡 Cheating epidemic Weak anti-cheat allowed hackers to thrive

❌ Poor update pacing Inconsistent gameplay changes

💬 Negative community sentiment Confusing UI and dev decisions

🔁 Name changes From H1Z1 → Z1 Battle Royale → H1Z1 again

While the game stagnated, others were watching—and preparing.

Part 4: Brendan Greene’s Departure and PUBG’s Meteoric Rise

🔸 Leaving Daybreak

Disillusioned with H1Z1's direction, Brendan Greene left Daybreak and was recruited by Bluehole Studio (now Krafton) in South Korea to develop his ultimate vision for Battle Royale.

🔸 Enter: PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG)

In March 2017, PUBG launched in Early Access and immediately exploded. Key features included:

• Tactical military gunplay.
• Realistic environments.
• Huge maps like Erangel and Miramar.
• Dynamic shrinking circles.

By late 2017:

• It had 3 million+ concurrent players on Steam.
• It inspired the Battle Royale mode in Fortnite, changing that game’s destiny.
• It redefined competitive survival gameplay for PC, console, and mobile.

Part 5: H1Z1’s Decline and Legacy

While PUBG and Fortnite became pop culture icons, H1Z1 suffered a slow death:

• Failed spin-offs like Just Survive were shut down.
• Player base dropped below survival levels.
• The game was renamed multiple times, which confused and fragmented the community.
• Dev team changes and lack of vision eroded loyalty.

Today, H1Z1 barely exists:

• PC version is technically live but abandoned.
• PS4 version survives with a niche community under Daybreak.

Part 6: The Legacy Nobody Talks About

Despite its fall, H1Z1: King of the Kill deserves recognition for being the first true BR standalone experience, helping to:

• Prove the viability of BR to a mass audience.
• Launch the career of Brendan Greene.
• Serve as a prototype for PUBG and all its successors.

If H1Z1 hadn’t taken that first commercial step, we might not have seen:

• Apex Legends
• PUBG
• Fortnite
• Warzone
• Free Fire MAX
• Call of Duty Mobile
• Or the entire mobile BR boom in Southeast Asia and India

Our Response: The Forgotten King of the Kill

Today, when people speak of Battle Royale games, they say Fortnite, CODM, PUBG, or Apex. But every empire has a forgotten dynasty — and for BRs, that dynasty is H1Z1: King of the Kill.

It was flawed. It was messy. But it was first.

In the story of Battle Royale, H1Z1 will always be the game that passed the torch — and without it, the genre might have stayed a mod.

🧾 Sources & Credits

• PlayerUnknown interviews (IGN, GameSpot, GDC)
• H1Z1 and PUBG developer updates
• SteamCharts historical player data
• Daybreak Game Company statements
• Twitch streaming analytics 2016–2019

References

Bluehole Studio. (2017). PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds [Video game]. PUBG Corporation.

Daybreak Game Company. (2016). H1Z1: King of the Kill [Early Access video game]. Steam. https://store.steampowered.com/app/433850/H1Z1/

Daybreak Game Company. (n.d.). H1Z1 developer blogs and updates. https://www.h1z1.com/news

Game Developers Conference. (2018, March). Brendan Greene: The making of PUBG [Conference talk]. GDC Vault. https://www.gdcvault.com/play/1025052/The-Designing-of-PLAYERUNKNOWN-S

Greene, B. (2017, July). 

The origins of Battle Royale [Interview]. IGN. 

https://www.ign.com/articles/2017/07/13/pubg-creator-brendan-greene-on-the-origins-of-battle-royale

Krafton. (n.d.). PUBG Battlegrounds official site. https://pubg.com

SteamCharts. (n.d.). H1Z1: King of the Kill player statistics. https://steamcharts.com/app/433850

TwitchTracker. (n.d.). Historical stats: 

H1Z1 and PUBG viewership, 2016–2019. https://twitchtracker.com

Sony Online Entertainment. (2015). H1Z1: Just Survive [Video game].