DayZ Creator Dean Hall Talks Bringing Icarus to Consoles

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Fans have been waiting, but Icarus: Console Edition is now scheduled to launch on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S in the first quarter of 2026. The console versions are being created by Grip Studios, a team that has previously worked on games like Mafia: The Old Country and Indiana Jones and The Great Circle. The original creator of the game, Dean Hall (known for DayZ), is also contributing to this new release.

Game Rant recently interviewed Hall about these game versions and his impact on survival games. This conversation has been edited for easier reading and to keep it concise.

Hall’s Experience with the Icarus and the Genre

Game Rant asked: You’ve frequently discussed the importance of realism and difficulty in survival games. How did your experiences with DayZ influence the development of Icarus?

To truly make players feel like they’re surviving a difficult situation, it’s important to start with a relatable environment. That’s why Icarus and ICARUS: Console Edition begin in areas that feel like Earth before introducing more alien landscapes. Unlike games like DayZ, we aim for a consistent level of challenge and tension, but we want players to be able to evaluate risks and prepare – avoiding frustrating, immediate deaths. The goal is for players to feel challenged, not unfairly punished.

Game Rant asked: Icarus was originally planned as a survival game with limited play sessions, not one where you could play indefinitely. What led to that decision, and how did players react to it?

We wanted to see what would happen if we made surviving in the game more intense by adding time pressure and real danger to every choice. Playing in shorter sessions means players have to carefully decide what’s important – what to keep, what to discard, and which risks are worth taking. This was a big change from typical open-world survival games, and it initially surprised some players. However, we’ve heard what people had to say and have since given players more freedom in how they play.

The game has changed a lot since it first came out, adding new areas, quests, and features. Were these additions always intended, or did they develop based on what players wanted?

The best approach is a combination of our long-term vision and community feedback. We have a clear plan for the game’s direction, but we’re also fortunate to have a dedicated player base that’s helped us quickly improve the experience with frequent updates – including quality of life improvements, new features, and bug fixes. The console edition especially benefits from years of these enhancements.

Bringing Icarus to Consoles

Game Rant asked the developers of Icarus: What were the most significant challenges they faced when adapting the game from PC to consoles?

We delayed releasing the game on consoles primarily because we weren’t sure how to translate the complex controls designed for mouse and keyboard to a controller. GRIP Studios has done an excellent job solving this, and we’re actually planning to use their work to add better controller support to the PC version of the game soon.

Many survival games struggle to find the right balance between making players work for progress and actually rewarding them. With Icarus, how did you aim to create a challenging experience that’s difficult without becoming overly annoying?

Challenges often lead to rewards, but everyone defines that balance differently. In the game Icarus, players can use a skill tree to avoid activities they dislike and focus on what they enjoy. No matter what you find tedious – whether it’s hunting, gathering wood, mining, or transporting items – there are skills available to make those tasks easier.

Icarus is designed for both cooperative play with friends and a dedicated solo experience. The challenge is to make the game enjoyable for both types of players without changing what makes Icarus fun at its heart.

Playing with others and playing alone feel very different in this game. When you team up, you can each focus on specific roles, but when you go it alone, you need to be able to do everything yourself. We’ve included a lot of different character options so everyone can adjust the difficulty and play the way they enjoy. Whether you prefer braving the elements by yourself or coordinating with friends, we want every player to feel empowered and have a good time.

Game Rant: When the game first came out, what are your thoughts on how its reputation has changed since then?

When we first launched, people had a variety of reactions, likely because our approach was different. We paid close attention to player feedback, consistently made improvements, and allowed those updates to demonstrate our commitment. Today, Icarus has evolved into a game that embodies both our initial ideas and the contributions of our dedicated players.

Learning Lessons From Icarus

Game Rant asked: When you try something new and different in a game, and fans don’t react positively right away, how do you deal with the pressure?

We build trust by being open and honest. We share how we work, acknowledge mistakes, and actively work to correct them. Players aren’t looking for flawless games; they value honesty and genuine effort. That’s why our regular updates and developer posts connect with them – they see we’re listening and constantly striving to make things better.

If you could replay Icarus knowing everything you do now, what’s the biggest change you would make?

Focus on the open-world aspect as the main part of the game, offering time-limited missions as something extra, rather than making those missions the primary focus. While some players still enjoy the original idea of a challenging, replayable survival game, most players prefer to spend their time building and improving their bases – and we’ve worked hard to make that a really satisfying experience.

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2025-10-24 15:07