H1Z1 Adding Female Character Models

Daybreak Game Company's PC zombie MMO H1Z1 is aiming to introduce female characters models in the next two weeks, CEO John Smedley said in a post on Twitter. Once female avatars arrive, H1Z1 will catch up with another popular zombie title, DayZ, which already has female avatars.

"Hoping to get the female model into H1Z1 in the next two weeks," he said. "Trying for late next week."

Development on female H1Z1 character models began in March as part of a wider effort to overhaul the look and diversity of both male and female avatars. As you can see in the image below, Daybreak has designed its female characters to look "relatively typical," if not somewhat athletic.

"The female model will be relatively the same height as the male model, so there will be no advantage in terms of hit target space," Daybreak art director Sebastian Strzalkowski said. "We are also creating male and female equivalent clothing. If you find a pair of jeans in H1Z1 as a male PC and wear them, you'll have the male version visually; if you find that same pair as a female PC, you’ll have the female version visually."

Strzalkowski added that in-game H1Z1 clothes will be "basically" the same, though modified slightly to fit each gender. "Nothing will be restricted to either gender and there will always be a 1:1 equivalent for each one," he explained.

H1Z1 released through Steam Early Access back in January. Though the game experienced some server woes at launch, it has since gone on to sell more than 1 million copies in its unfinished state.

The game is also coming to PlayStation 4, though a release date for that version has not been announced. And, although Daybreak has broken free from Sony and is eyeing Xbox support, the company has not announced any plans to bring H1Z1 to Xbox One.