devtrackers.gg
Hey Survivors!
The devs are making progress every day towards producing an Experimental build of version 1.0 (formerly called Alpha 22). While that work continues, we are once again preparing to team with our streamer community to show 1.0 to a larger audience through a pre-release Streamer Weekend event. We know there are many streamers out there, old and new, who have played our game for their audiences and who would love to be a part of this event. If you’re one of them, we are now accepting applications for review.
Important: participation in past events does NOT qualify you for the event this time. EVERY streamer, returning or new, must submit a new application and qualify to participate.
How to apply
1. Acquire at least 5,000 (current) Twitch followers or Youtube subscribers. Gamers on other streaming platforms will be evaluated on a case by case basis, with verifiable viewership being a key factor.
Exception 1: Partnered Twitch streamers automatically qualify, regardless of followers.
2. Fill out and submit an application form at https://forms.gle/DxvjP3wQUbi4sEmL9.
3. Look for a response via email telling you that you qualify and can proceed to make your announcement video.
4. In a video or recorded clip from a stream, announce on your channel that you will be showing early footage of 1.0 (in English too if possible). Our “rough estimate,” subject to change, is for the event to occur sometime in June, but we don't have a firm date yet. You can just tell them it is going to be happening soon. This video is part of our verification that the applicant actually controls the channel, as well as to help generate buzz for 1.0.
5. Reply to your email from step 3 with a link to your announcement video. The link needs to be cued up to where you make the announcement if part of a longer video.
6. Look for a reply with an invitation to our Streamer Weekend Discord server. Announcements regarding the event will be made there, including the password to download 1.0 on the first day of the event. You will also be added to the public list on the forum.
7. Join the Discord server and set your nickname to match the name under which you stream. Then you can be assigned the Twitch or Youtube role.
Streamer Weekend FAQ
Q: Will everyone who qualifies be accepted?
A: This is not a drawing, so being accepted is not down to chance. However, we reserve the right to exclude anyone from the event, if we believe they won’t represent the game or the company well.
Q: Will participants get the game for free?
A: We want people who have actually played before and know what they're doing when they show 1.0, so we are not giving the game away for free for this event. The password you will be given is to download the 1.0 update, not a Steam key for the game itself. If you want to stream during the event but have never played 7 Days to Die, please get the game and play for a few weeks on A21. We do plan to give streamers some Steam promo keys to gift the current game (Alpha 21) to their audience during the event.
Q: When is 1.0 coming out, and when will the Streamer Weekend participants get access to it?
A: When it's ready. Our “rough estimate,” subject to change, is for the event to occur sometime in June, but don't claim specific dates when hyping the event to your viewers before one is announced. Some streamers did this in the past, and it makes everyone look bad. Monitor the Discord server for updates. We hope to provide the date the Monday or Tuesday before the event, but sometimes things happen. The public release of 1.0 Experimental will happen on a Monday. The Streamer Weekend participants will get it the Friday/Saturday before that, so they have roughly the full weekend for streaming (more or less, depending on time zone).
Q: If I make the Streamer Weekend team, how do I access 1.0?
A: We will post the password to the invitation-only Discord server, on the day of the event (a Friday). Full instructions are provided there but briefly, in Steam you will right click on the game and go to Properties -> Betas -> Beta access code to enter the password, which will make the 1.0 Experimental build appear in the list of betas you can opt into.
Q: What if I don’t have 5,000 followers or subscribers, but I’m super loyal and I really want to stream 1.0 early?
A: Please don’t apply if you don’t meet the criteria detailed above. We encourage you to do all you can to hype up and advertise your channel to get your follower/subscriber count up before the application period ends. If you can’t reach 5,000 this time, we are also interested in doing future streamer events after 1.0.
Q: Do you have to have a presence on both Youtube and Twitch? What if I use a different platform?
A: You only have to have a presence on one site, where we can go to your channel via your link and see your viewership numbers and later your announcement video. We chose followers on Twitch and subscribers on Youtube because those are the most easily publicly viewable metrics. We will evaluate alternative platforms for streaming games on a case by case basis, with verifiable viewership being a key factor.
Q: If the game is ready for streamers to show it, isn’t it ready for everyone to play it?
A: We know many players are excited to download and play 1.0 Experimental as soon as possible. The build the streamers play is effectively a release candidate for 1.0 Experimental. Logistically, while some developers are on hand to address showstoppers over the weekend, we want to release the experimental build to the whole community on a Monday (whichever Monday that turns out to be), so that the whole team will be available to work on fixing the bugs that can arise when a huge number of people opt in to test 1.0 Experimental. In the meantime, we hope you will post your feedback on what you see, and help us catch things that might be simple to fix before the public release of 1.0 Experimental the following Monday.
Q: Why are streamers getting special treatment? Didn’t I pay for early access?
A: All of our customers who have paid for early access are getting the early access that they paid for. At the same time, TFP has long acknowledged the hugely beneficial role of streamers all over the world in today’s game industry and game media. These streamer events have only gotten more popular over time, which is good for creating buzz and ultimately good for business. Being able to reach potentially hundreds of thousands of viewers over the weekend to get the word out that 1.0 is finally here is a powerful and amazing tool we want to use. Allowing the streamers to show early footage of an update is something of great value to us and to them. We love all of our fans, and we hope you all will love the 1.0 launch when you get to play it. Plus, for those who enjoy this sort of media, it is a great deal of fun that we want to Pimp out to all of you.
Q: What if I usually stream with others? Can they get access as well?
A: Yes. Co-op is a big part of 7 Days to Die, so we allow Streamer Weekend participants to share access with people they trust that they want to play with for their stream. These guest players who are not streamers for the event may not use their access to go play 1.0 by themselves. Nor may they post 1.0 content on their own channels during the event.