Project Zomboid Shambles Toward Console Release, Build 42 Coming Early 2025, Financial Report Suggest

The currently PC-exclusive cult-hit zombie survival game might be eyeing for a console release sometime soon. In the developer’s latest financial statement, Project Zomboid is aiming for an “early 2025” launch for Build 42 and planning console ports. According to the report, the company mentioned the possibility of Xbox and PlayStation ports, but the word Nintendo Switch is nowhere to be seen.

The company’s audited financial report for the year ending August 2023 mentioned that Project Zomboid has enjoyed “remarkable profits.” Its sole product earns the company a gross income of £19 million, around $25 million, with 95% of the sales coming from Steam.

The Indie Stone’s delay in releasing its financial statement to the UK government can be attributed to the reporting timeline dictated by local corporate law. Private companies in the UK usually file their annual financial statements within nine months of the accounting year-end. Then additional audits and processes might have pushed the document filings further.

Along with the positive outlook, Indie Stone has devoted research and development to “rewriting the base foundational code” of the game’s engine. This, in turn, will not just improve the NPC AIs for more “dynamic gameplay,” but also help with porting it to Xbox and PlayStation.

Nevertheless, the UK-based indie developer has yet to determine a release window for such a project. It also failed to mention a potential Nintendo Switch port for Project Zomboid.

Much research and development time, however, remains ongoing for the future of the game: primarily a rewrite of its base foundational code that will enable the game’s transfer onto consoles such as Xbox and PlayStation, and work with in-game AI that will allow for more dynamic gameplay in future versions of the game.

The report also highlights that Build 42 for Project Zomboid is expected to launch by late 2024 or early 2025. This massive update will introduce new features, including “ragdoll physics” and “physics-based combat.” These features were originally slated for a later update, but the team managed to finish them ahead of schedule. Indie Stone hopes that the Build 42 launch will make the game as viral as the December 2021 Steam launch.

We anticipate that the next version of Project Zomboid will launch either at the end of the calendar year of 2024, or within the first six months of 2025. It is feature-rich and much anticipated, and likely to catch the same viral momentum we experienced in Dec 2021.

Nevertheless, fans are a bit wary, thinking Project Zomboid is biting more than it can chew with a console port. As the game is notorious for slow updates, making a PlayStation and Xbox port might delay future updates like Build 43. The 2025 release window estimate for Build 42 could also mean it’s aiming for a June launch.

After all, the current Build 41, also known as The Animation Overhaul, was released on December 20, 2021. That means loyal supporters can be left waiting for 3 years for another update after this one.