The standalone version of open-world zombie survival game DayZ has had 88,000 downloads in the first 12 hours of its alpha release on Steam early access.

Writing on Twitter, Bohemia developer Maruk thanked the community for picking up the game. “88.000 survivors have joined Dayz Alpha in the first 12 hours. Thank you.”

The game’s creator, Dean Hall, also revealed that up to 200 people a second were signing up to the DayZ alpha. “About 200 new players a second at the moment in the database... what the hell....”

The standalone version of DayZ, which is being sold for $29,99, is still in alpha, and Bohemia warns people to steer clear if they expect a bug-free product.

“DayZ Early Access is your chance to experience DayZ as it evolves throughout its development process," reads the game's description. "Be aware that our Early Access offer is a representation of our core pillars, and the framework we have created around them. It is a work in progress and therefore contains a variety of bugs. We strongly advise you not to buy and play the game at this stage unless you clearly understand what Early Access means and are interested in participating in the ongoing development cycle.”

The long-delayed and still in-development DayZ standalone will feature a new client/server architecture, gear deterioration, locational damage, and a new inventory system compared to its original release as a mod for ArmA II.