Articles DayZ

The first games in their genres — 40 projects that did something for the very first time what now appears in every other game. The first shooter, the first fighting game, the first Battle Royale, the first minimap, the first QTE, the first dialogue tree. The history of the gaming industry is the history of who invented what first. Did you know that the first first-person shooter wasn't Wolfenstein? That the color-coded loot rarity system was invented not in Diablo but in a text-based ASCII roguelike? That the Battle Royale genre was born from a zombie simulator mod, not from a marketer's head? Most of the mechanics we take for granted were invented by someone for the first time — often by accident, sometimes out of laziness, almost always in a game you've never heard of. This piece covers more than 30 such innovations. The first fighting game, the first stealth game, the first open world, the first character progression system, the first dialogue tree, the first online multiplayer, the first co-op, the first Battle Royale — and the games behind them. Some will surprise you, some will make you laugh, but every single one deserves to be known.

More than 65 of the best survival games on PC: zombie apocalypses, deep space, deserted islands, hardcore simulators, and co-op survival games with crafting and base-building. The genre is enormous and full of forgettable cash-grabs, so we picked only the survival games that pull you in for dozens — even hundreds — of hours.

This selection has something for every taste: harsh realistic simulators where death waits around every corner, cozy crafting sandboxes, tense horrors, and sprawling online worlds. For each game we tell you whether it's more fun solo or with friends. Pick your format and survive.

The best co-op games of 2026 on PC, PS5, Xbox and Switch: shooters, survival games, horror, RPGs and two-player co-op over the network and on one screen. 280+ games to play with friends. In short, the best co-op games right now are It Takes Two, Minecraft, Helldivers 2, Baldur's Gate 3, GTA Online and Stardew Valley. The full list is broken down by genre — shooters, survival, horror, RPGs, two-player games and more — below.

Rust is a unique game that perfectly combines the mechanics of survival, construction, shooter and island exploration. It's hard to find a second project with such a high level of hardcore and the same abundance of opportunities. In this material, we have collected ten games that come as close as possible to Rust in terms of atmosphere and gameplay!

The best survival games on PS4 and PS5—from hardcore, no-holds-barred survival games to co-op survival games that keep you glued to the screen for hundreds of hours. This list includes the 30 best survival games on PlayStation: zombie apocalypses, realistic survival simulators, crafting and building survival games, and PS4 and PS5 exclusives like The Last of Us and Days Gone. There's something for every taste here, with co-op, story-driven games, and Russian language support.

We’ve compiled the best zombie games on PC and consoles: from hardcore survival in open worlds to chilling horror experiences. Find out how to survive an apocalypse where hordes of the undead roam the streets and resources are so scarce that every bullet counts. This article includes both major story-driven blockbusters and more niche experimental projects focused on zombie themes. The undead vary across these titles: some are slow and mindless, others are fast, and some can even use weapons. But the key point is that fighting all of them is equally engaging.

Late December is the best time for online gaming: developers traditionally create the most generous and packed events of the year for the holidays. Holiday events aren't just cosmetics and decorations, but full-fledged modes, quests, accelerated farming, and rare rewards that may not return for years afterward. We've compiled the most interesting and genuinely worthwhile holiday events in popular games that are live right now — so you know where it's worth spending your time and where the celebration was limited to a token giveaway of hats.

In 2017, Battlestate Games opened access to an early version of the tactical first-person shooter Escape from Tarkov. The project quickly gained popularity, as it offered players a fresh formula and a new genre. In recent years, many games with a good concept have appeared, but, unfortunately, quantity prevails over quality. This selection will help you navigate the extraction genre.

After the release of DayZ, the gaming industry was swept by a wave of Survival genre games. Many of them forever stuck in early access, turning out to be uninspired clones. However, among the sea of sameness, there are games that stand out for their style or gameplay mechanics.