H1Z1: King of the Kill development 'paused' on consoles

Daybreak has paused development on the console versions of H1Z1: King of the Kill to focus on prepping the PC version for launch on September 30.

It's the latest turn in H1Z1's meandering development narrative, which earlier this year saw the Early Access title split into two wildly different entities -- multiplayer shooter H1Z1: King of the Kill, and apocalyptic MMO H1Z1: Just Survive.

Writing in his regular producer's letter, Daybreak's Chris Wynn explained a bloated multi-platform production schedule had taken its toll on the team. 

"We were spread too thin trying to fix areas of the game while simultaneously getting the game to work on the console hardware," he wrote. "It became clear that to best line up the game for success was to reduce the number of variables in the equation."

"As a result, I have decided to pause our efforts on the console versions and put 100 percent of the focus on to the PC version of the game for right now."

Wynn says the studio will turn their attentions back to the Xbox One and PS4 versions as soon as they ship the full PC version out of early access, and promised to keep fans in the loop going forward.