7 Days to Die is finally leaving Early Access in June but fans aren't sure it's the right move.

After twelve long years, 7 Days to Die will finally leave Early Access in June 2024. Although this change was highly anticipated, many question whether it is the right move for the game now.

As someone who has played many Alphas of the game, I can say that 7 Days to Die has undergone many changes compared to where it started 12 years ago. The 1.0 launch comes with big art changes (I'm excited about all the new animals they keep teasing in 7 Days to Die Discord) and a bunch 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

The fans expected Alpha 22 in 2024, but instead we get version 1.0 and an official launch. 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 nice it is.

Honestly, this change feels pretty rushed, despite Richard Huenink, the co-founder of the Fun Pimps claiming that they always planned for Alpha 22 to be version 1.0. One Reddit user, Alt_SWR, said, 'I mean, sure, it's technically leaving EA, but it's not actually if you ask me. Many of the BIG features will be missing in the “1.0” release.'

For many of us, this is exactly where the negative feelings come from, in addition to the comments about the Alpha Exodus: The Road to 1.0 YouTube video being turned off. That's never a good look.

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Will there be many improvements? Yes. But many of the big changes that have been promised for years won't come until after launch. As a game that won't get the oft-delayed Bandits until Q2 of 2025 and story mode until Q4 of 2025, it's really asking a lot of its fans, especially with the price hike to $45.

Do I think the price increase is worth it? Not really, at least not at the 1.0 launch with many of the Kickstarter goals still left to be met later. Especially when you consider how many times the game has been on sale, almost every few months in the past year alone. If you're looking to start playing 7DYD, then your best bet is to grab the game on its final 76% sale from April 22 to April 29.

If you already have the game, then nothing will really change for you. You can continue exploring Navezgane as you have been until now. TFP also promises that we'll be getting a lot of free updates along with DLCs and expansions, which I'll have to see before I can form an opinion. I've been playing this game for years, I really hope it's positive.

Roadmap of 7 Days to Die

The 7 Days to Die roadmap explains everything that will happen after the launch of 1.0. TFP claims they will commit to the set deadlines, with some delays possible. From experience, the community doesn't put much faith in these deadlines, and TFP will have to work hard to prove us wrong.

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• Storm's Brewing in Q4 2024 – This update will add a major overhaul to the weather system and biome progression and add a wardrobe system. But the most important part coming with the update is the cross-play feature, allowing the new console players to connect with their PC friends (or other consoles).
• New Threat in Q2 2025 – Official promise to finally add the Bandits, the long-awaited NPCs, to the game. They've been delayed so many times that I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this time, it's the real deal. Additionally, 7DYD will introduce an event system and a new Quest Type. As someone whose primary role on my team is running Quests for the merchants, I'm very excited to hear about the new one.
• The Way Forward in Q4 2025 – The path will lead us to even more Quest Types, but most importantly we will get a story mode. The game has had the scaffolding for a story done for so long, and it will be incredible to finally see it fleshed out.

The roadmap is promising, but it's also bittersweet that many of these features aren't available at the 1.0 launch. I will still be playing the game for many years to come, but the developers will have to work hard to justify the new game prices to new fans who might want to play it.

If you want to stay current with all the new changes to the game, check out the 7 Days to Die Patch Notes in Pro Game Guides.