The War Z enters beta, expands map and adds new characters and items

We've already picked apart our spongy zombie delicacies over Hammerpoint's alpha offerings of its open-world survive-em-up The War Z, but a reevaluation might soon be necessary as Hammerpoint announced The War Z's transition into beta today and the appearance of new playable characters, clan chat and tag support, more purchaseable store items, and the remaining final section of its sprawling Colorado map.

Hammerpoint also yanked the availability of the Survivor, Pioneer, and Legend pre-purchase editions to keep their respective recognition perks in the roomy rucksacks of alpha testers. Instead, three new currency-based packages exist on the official website's storeproviding a mixture of guest keys and in-game cash at $15/£9, $25/£15, and $50/£31 price levels.

Executive Producer Sergey Titov outlined upcoming features in afor the road (sans Viggo Mortensen) leading to The War Z's planned Foundation Release later this month. Stronger antihack measures, in-game store and inventory management, .22 caliber weapons, more melee combat options, driveable vehicles, tear gas, and other additions all sit on the bloodstained horizon for War Z's denizens.