Hello Runners 5! It’s almost the end of the year, which makes it the perfect time to look at what we’ve done with Zombies, Run! since our last update in Spring, and what we’re planning for the first half of 2019.
I’m really happy with the improvements we’ve made to ZR recently. We added some big new features like Statistics & Personal Bests and support for Siri Shortcuts. We also spent time improving accessibility on both Android and iPhone, including much better support for VoiceOver assistance for the visually-impaired. We care a lot about making ZR accessible for as many people as possible, so we’re really glad to be bringing you all such big improvements in these areas.
Our boardgame has continued to reach new audiences this year, and we were thrilled to see glowing reviews from Rahdo Runs Through and Big Boss Battle. We’re preparing to release the next big update for the boardgame app, which includes not only a number of bug fixes but also a tonne of exciting new content from our amazing guest writers, including Chocolat author Joanne Harris!
I know it’s practically a joke to read “bug fixes and performance improvements” in app updates, but we really did fix a lot of bugs in recent months! ZR still isn’t entirely crash-free but we’re seeing a huge improvement in stability and we’re committed to continuing that work.
So what’s happening next?
Technology
In the first half of 2019, we’ll be doing a lot of work behind the scenes to improve the performance of Zombies, Run! When we first created ZR, we made some assumptions about how many missions we might have, and let’s just say we’ve blown well past those assumptions. So we’re going to make ZR faster, especially on older phones, and that will also improve the stability of the app – fewer crashes and hiccups during runs! We’re also hoping to roll out a feature that will save in-progress run logs in case of crashes, battery problems, or accidental app closure.
Not every change will be behind the scenes, though. We’ll be improving the design of the app to make it easier and faster to customise your runs, and to help new players discover the many, many, many features that Zombies, Run! already has. Part of that will include improving subscription management and the way we explain how to use Zombies, Run!
Finally, we’ll be spending a lot of our time on some secret developments that you’ll hear more about in due time. We’re really excited to tell you more!
Story
Season 8 will be coming this Spring from ZR co-creator and lead writer Naomi Alderman, and next month we’ll be revealing our Spring 2019 Virtual Race. If you like zombie movies and foreign films, you’re going to love this race!
That’s not all! We’ll be adding something entirely new to Zombies, Run! that everyone can enjoy – new runners and veterans…
Community
We’ve added some fantastic new merch to our official store this year, including new posters, mugs, T-shirts, and tote bags, and we’ll be keeping up the pace next year!
We’re also exploring the idea of holding official fan events in both the US and UK – potentially even a fan convention in London! We always love meeting fans and we’d like to reach out further, so watch this space for more details.
Later in 2019…
Our main source of income for Zombies, Run! is from subscriptions. We think this is a really healthy way of supporting development – as long as you continue to enjoy Zombies, Run!, we can continue to maintain and improve it with new stories and features for years to come. That’s why one of big goals this year is to give you more for your subscription, and you’ll start to see that pay off in the coming months.
Apple Music and Apple Watch are still on our to-do list, and we hope to use their new updates to improve our support for both of them in the future.
We’re all really grateful for your support throughout the years, and we can’t wait to see what you think of what’s coming next year!
– Adrian Hon, CEO and Lead Designer at Six to Start
Zombies, Run! 