DayZ Players Divided Over Free DLC Compensation
Though DayZ: Livonia will soon become part of the base game, players aren't overly complaining about the change. This is even despite the lack of compensation for DLC purchasers on consoles.
2024 is expected to be a very interesting year for DayZ fans. Although the developers were mainly interested in improvements, the situation around the DayZ: Livonia expansion caused a bit of confusion among fans. Although significantly less than we might expect.
On April 23, the Bohemia Interactive team announced that with the debut of version 1.25, DayZ and DayZ: Livonia will be merged into "one product" on all platforms (PC, PlayStation 4 / 5, Xbox One / SX/S). In reality, this should lead to a slightly increased base price and the removal of the expansion from sale.
Both of these moves are somewhat expected, although it's not exactly pleasing that the game will come at a higher cost (although the developer assures that it will still be cheaper than the current DayZ and Livonia bundle). However, it doesn't make a difference to the current buyers. The situation is different when it comes to another matter: what about players who purchased DayZ: Livonia - for instance, during the recent sale - and now question whether they spent money on Livonia needlessly after the developers' announcement?
DLC still on sale
At first glance, the announcement of the combination of the base game and the expansion didn't meet with enthusiasm. Just take a look at the game's ratings on Steam from the last 30 days. And actually from the last week. Of the new reviews for DayZ Livonia, only less than 20% are positive.
It might be surprising because social media posts aren't as clearly negative as one might assume based on the many critical reviews on Steam. A lot of buyers bought the DLC during one of the many promotions and are rather happy that Livonia will open up to more players (via Reddit).
However, the players weren't impressed by two aspects related to this decision. The most important thing is that the expansion is still available for purchase, even though it will soon be combined with the basic version of the game. This applies to all platforms and might seem unnecessary - why keep offering the option to buy an expansion that is meant to be integrated into the base game.
Soundtrack for a select few didn't upset many fans
The second problem is compensation for Livonia's buyers. Players who purchased the DLC before the release of the 1.25 update will receive the soundtrack for free - but only on Steam. In other words, console owners of DayZ won't receive anything for owning the expansion (via the official game website).
It's reasonable to expect that this fact will really annoy the players. However, as mentioned earlier, fans aren't universally criticizing Bohemia Interactive studio for this decision. Yes, people who had recently bought the extension were deeply annoyed by the devs' announcement. However, many internet users point out that buyers paid for the chance to play Livonia at the time of purchase - and that's precisely what they received.
Of course, there are suggestions that the developer should find a way to differentiate DLC purchasers. Not necessarily an item that influences the gameplay (which would fall under pay-to-win), but even a modest cosmetic item like a shirt. Or the possibility of returning it, although this is a completely unrealistic option.
More information about update 1.25 and the merger of DayZ with the expansion will be announced on May 20. The patch itself is supposed to hit the game "soon," but so far no exact date has been given.
As a side note: the devs couldn't resist the temptation to stab the creators of Escape From Tarkov, just as they did a few months earlier in connection with the failure of The Day Before. This time the Czechs "offered" a special edition (Unheard edition), for $250 allowing you to get special loot: an apple, a bandage, and the so-called glowstick. This is a response to a similarly titled edition of EfT, which greatly irritated fans of this game.
