The War Z

The War Z is a 2012 open-world zombie-survival game developed by Hammerpoint Interactive and published by OP Productions for Windows. Riding the wave of interest sparked by the Arma 2 mod DayZ, it placed players in a persistent, post-apocalyptic world overrun by zombies and, more dangerously, by other players, where the core loop revolves around scavenging for food, water, weapons and supplies while surviving against the undead and hostile survivors. The game became infamous for a deeply controversial launch: it was widely criticised for misleading marketing on its store page that advertised features not present in the game, leading Valve to temporarily pull it from Steam and issue refunds, and it drew accusations of being a rushed, buggy cash-in on DayZ's popularity. Amid trademark conflict with the World War Z film franchise, it was later renamed Infestation: Survivor Stories. The episode became a notorious cautionary tale about early-access-era over-promising, false advertising and consumer trust. Despite the backlash, it maintained a player base for a time. The War Z is remembered far more for the scandal surrounding its release and marketing than for its merits as a survival game, and it stands as an emblematic controversy of the early-2010s zombie-survival boom.