ZR9 is here! We can’t wait to tell you about everything we’re bringing you this year, from our new Virtual Races feature and our continuing Home Front workouts, to all our incredible New Adventures!
But first, check out our awesome launch trailer:
The Home Front
When gyms closed around the world, we wanted to help you keep moving wherever you were. That’s why we introduced our first-ever set of home workouts in The Home Front, for people of all abilities.
The Home Front has also been our way to continue the main Zombies, Run! story with the characters you know and love, from Sam and Janine to Jody and Phil and Peter. We’ve been delighted by how much fun it’s been to write and produce these workouts, which are recorded and edited completely remotely. It’s not always been easy, but it’s worth it, especially when we hear how much the workouts have meant to players:
I have really appreciated having The Home Front as I am currently deployed with the national guard within my state to help monitor COVID-19. It gives me a sense of normalcy and motivation to work out. So in a few short words, thank you and please keep the story going. – Dawn Alexander
and
I just wanted to say thank you for putting together The Home Front. My roommate and I are both immunocompromised and aren’t leaving the apartment for any reason, so these missions have been a lifesaver.
The workouts are great, the dance breaks are fun, and hearing all of the actors talking about isolation and fear while staying hopeful and connected keeps me thinking positive. – Casey S.
At first, we only planned to create ten workouts, but this week we released Mission 14 – and today we’re announcing The Home Front story will be continuing through this year, with plans for over 20 missions in total, and counting!
Even better, The Home Front workouts will continue to be ad-free and fully unlocked for all players. We’ve never done this for any other mode before and we hope this will help even more people have fun while keeping physically and mentally fit!
All 10 Virtual Races Now Available!
When we started our Virtual Race series in 2015, we had no idea how popular they’d be, and how far we could take the concept. Since then, our epic 5K/10K races have added training missions, secret websites, puzzle books, ID cards, exclusive merch, and even minigames!
We’ve loved the movie-style stories we could tell, from rescuing a train trapped in the Channel Tunnel with the European Rescue Force, to retrieving vital technology from the deadly Tomorrow Island.
So it’s no surprise that the millions of runners who’ve joined since 2015 have wanted to play our past races! And in ZR9, that’s finally possible through our new Virtual Races feature.
For the first time, you can get instant digital access to all ten of our Virtual Races from inside Zombies, Run! And these races aren’t just missions – they come with a wealth of story extras like emails, websites, leaflets, videos, so you’re getting the full Virtual Race experience.
All the races are set during the early days of the apocalypse, so they’re tailor-made for all Runners 5 and contain no spoilers for the main Zombies, Run! story! And for dedicated runners, we’ll have special Souvenir Packs as an optional purchase, with a themed finisher’s medal and certificate, and exclusive physical race extras! More on that soon…
But how do you get digital access to the Virtual Races? Just become a VIP member!
VIP Membership
This is our new highest membership tier and it includes:
- All the benefits of Abel Runner’s Club (500+ unlocked missions, Custom Zombie Chases, Interval Training, Airdrop Mode, plus full access to two whole extra fitness games: ZR 5K Training and The Walk)
- 10 past Virtual Races, compromising 28 epic missions set during the early days of the apocalypse – newly enhanced with in-app digital story extras!
- 2+ new Virtual Races every year
- Invitation to our private Rofflenet forum
- Brand new “Evergreen Leaderboards” for every past and future Virtual Race (coming later this year)
- Exclusive benefits including merchandise discounts (coming later this year)
At $89.99 USD/year (that’s just $7.50/month!), we think VIP Membership is great value – especially since it includes everything in Abel Runner’s Club ($34.99/year). And we’re working on making it even better value in the coming months and years.
For all the answers about VIP Membership and Virtual Races, check out our FAQ at the end of this post!
New Adventures
Alongside The Home Front, we have a wealth of incredible new stories coming this year. These are just some of the New Adventures we’re launching:
- Dinosaur Dash (out now) by Andrea Phillips. Join a top secret research expedition and encounter the last of the dinosaurs!
- A Study in Ichor by Mary Goodden and Naomi Alderman. An unfortunate heir, an industrialist bent on changing the world, and a menace stalking the streets of Victorian London! Can you stop it before it’s too late? Starting July 20th, featuring the main Zombies, Run! cast!
- Between The Lines by Tom Crowley. A man with mysterious motives, a long abandoned house and a secret that bled into the ground itself. Will you discover the truth in this mystery/horror story?
- Wreck Runner by Mur Lafferty and Alasdair Stuart. Join Captain Duffy and the crew of the SolFleet vessel Juno as you salvage space wrecks and rescue survivors! Coming August 2020
- Grand Canyon by Alex Acks. Explore the length of the Grand Canyon, and discover the secrets of its history. Coming August 2020.
- Nellie Bly by Jessica Wright Buha. Join the adventurous journalist Nellie Bly as she races to travel around the world in 72 days!
- Matchmaker by Emily Short. Can a matchmaking service using all the latest tech really find a perfect match?
- Little Red by Corvyn Appleby. Dare you go into the woods at night? You’re a mercenary hired to protect one small girl visiting a relative, but there’s a monster on the loose, and grandmother’s house is so very far away…
- The Signals’ War by Avin Shah. In the First World War, join Sapper Five through their assignments across East Africa, Turkmenistan, and all the way to Archangel in the far north of Russia. The messages you carry are vital and the situation is dire…
And believe it or not, we have even more New Adventures coming this year that we’ll be announcing closer to the time, so keep your eyes peeled!
For full access to every single one of these New Adventures as soon as they launch, make sure you join the Abel Runner’s Club!
Later This Year…
Though Six to Start is a fully remote company, we’re a small team and we’ve still been impacted by the lockdowns. But we’re committed to keep improving Zombies, Run!, and here are just a few of the features we’re working on that’ll be launching later this year:
- A dedicated Home Workout mode to enhance The Home Front
- Big improvements for Apple Watch
- Our Halloween Virtual Race: DIE RISE!
- Virtual Race “Evergreen Leaderboards”
- And much, much more…
VIP & Virtual Races FAQ
What if I’m already an Abel Runner’s Club member?
You can upgrade directly in the app in More > Membership! Your new VIP subscription will begin immediately and you’ll automatically be reimbursed for any unused time on your existing subscription.
I’ve already entered a past Virtual Race, do I keep my access?
Great news: yes!
Will there be other ways to enter future Virtual Races?
We don’t have anything to announce on this yet, but we’re always evaluating new ideas!
Will there still be medal packs and add-ons available for Virtual Races?
Yes! VIP membership gives you digital entry to the race. We’ll have special Souvenir Packs as an optional purchase, with a themed finisher’s medal and certificate, and exclusive physical race extras! We’ll also have the same great T-shirts and tech tanks for races. VIP members will receive an exclusive discount to use on our official store for all merch including Virtual Race gear, which we’ll give more details on soon.
If I don’t subscribe to VIP will I lose my Rofflenet access?
No. If you already have access to Rofflenet you will not lose it if you don’t subscribe to the VIP Membership.
If I already have run past virtual races will I lose access to these in the app?
No, if you have paid for any previous virtual races you’ll always have access to these in the app.
Does ZR9 mean Season 9 is coming soon?
ZR9 is the latest version of the app, it does not refer to Season 9. When we wrote the scripts for Season 9, we planned for them to be recorded with multiple actors in the same room for extended periods of time. Due to COVID-19 restrictions still in place in the UK, we can’t do that safely. We’re constantly reviewing the guidelines and will get back in the studio as soon as it is 100% safe for our actors and staff to do so.
If I don’t subscribe to VIP can I still buy new or old Virtual Races individually?
Right now, all our races are available to VIP members. We don’t have anything to announce right now about how race entry will work in the future, but we are reading all of your feedback and we’re always considering changes and new options.
Zombies, Run! 