The game's development began after the original H1Z1 was spun off into two separate projects in early 2016: H1Z1: Just Survive and H1Z1: King of the Kill.

[1] At release, the game suffered from numerous technical issues, such as players reporting that they could not login to their account or enter any active server.

[12] The game was fully released out of early access on February 28, 2018, with updates to combat, gameplay, and a new gamemode known as Auto Royale.

In addition, a new mission system, as well as ranked play, including monthly tournaments between the top 75 players in a region, were added.

However, this will not be connected to the Battle Royale mode but rather to the previously discontinued game "Just Survive" According to Ji Ham, development is planned to begin in the first quarter of 2024, with a targeted release in 2026.

The game also features a crafting system that allows players to create makeshift tools, such as deconstructing scavenged items into functional bandages or body armor.

This effectively makes the playable portion of the map smaller, so that players are eventually forced to confront one another in close quarters.

[32][33] Although it predated Fortnite and PUBG: Battlegrounds in the Battle Royale genre, the game has not been able to maintain its position, ultimately losing a significant portion of the playerbase.

[38] In August 2017, a Combat Update which changed spray patterns for many of the weapons and tweaked movement has been released which also resulted in backlash from the game's users.