DayZ gets a new map, bears

DayZ Livonia bears
(Image credit: Bohemia Interactive)

DayZ's first paid DLC has arrived. For $14 on Steam, you can experience a new map, Livonia, which at 163 square kilometers is a bit smaller than Chernarus and may provide more frequent player encounters. But players and zombies aren't the only hazards you'll need to worry about. There are bears in DayZ now, and not just in Livonia but also in the survival game's original map, Chernarus.

"This Eastern European terrain covers the southern Topolin-Nadbór region of the larger Polish-speaking country of Livonia," read the Steam store page. "The new topography brings lush green landscapes, dense forests, overgrown fields, winding rivers, serene lakes, murky swamps, an array of dilapidated structures, and various remnants of an abandoned society."

And bears. It also brings bears.

To my eyes, Livonia doesn't really look all that different from Chernarus, though I've only seen a handful of screenshots (you can see for yourself below). I also worry a bit that since you need to buy the new map, it could fracture the DayZ community a bit—I expect tons of DayZ servers will want to host the new map, which could give players of the original Chernarus map a harder time finding a place to play. I guess we'll see.

(Image credit: Bohemia Interactive)

(Image credit: Bohemia Interactive)

(Image credit: Bohemia Interactive)

(Image credit: Bohemia Interactive)
Christopher Livingston
Senior Editor

Chris started playing PC games in the 1980s, started writing about them in the early 2000s, and (finally) started getting paid to write about them in the late 2000s. Following a few years as a regular freelancer, PC Gamer hired him in 2014, probably so he'd stop emailing them asking for more work. Chris has a love-hate relationship with survival games and an unhealthy fascination with the inner lives of NPCs. He's also a fan of offbeat simulation games, mods, and ignoring storylines in RPGs so he can make up his own.