Umm, OK: The War Z Is Out Now, I Think

Oh, hm. Well, this comes as something of a surprise. Not terribly long ago, The War Z ventured out from the safe embrace of alpha into the unknown reaches of beta, and now it's... live? I think? The undead-infested MMO shooter's shambled onto Steam, and Hammerpoint's declaring this a "Foundation Release." Which - from what I gather - is like a normal release, but with the promise of heaps of new features in the very near future. There might even be zombies involved. There is, believe it or not, precedent for this.

Currently, The War Z's available at three price tiers: $14.99, $24.99, and $49.99. The latter two tiers come with various amounts of in-game currency, and all three are on celebratory launch sale right now.

Previously, a rather brief beta doubled the size of the game world and added a smattering of new features, but Hammerpoint hasn't really elaborated on what makes this Foundation Release markedly different. They did, however, lay out a road map for the next few months, with drivable vehicles, player-defined missions, and maybe weapon crafting coming as standouts.

If nothing else, early buyers can re-download The War Z for free on Steam, so at least there's that. But with DayZ's standalone launch baring down, it's tempting to wonder if this is some kind of reactionary sprint to the starting line. Unfortunately, I've yet to really sink my teeth into The War Z, so consider my knee thoroughly jerked for the time being.

What of you and yours, though? Have you given it a go at any point during its (relatively brief) period of public existence? Do you think it's ready for primetime? Curiosity means I'll probably join the War Z effort myself soon, but until then, what's the RPS consensus on this one?