DayZ Bounty is a new, unofficial mod for Dean Hall and Bohemia Interactive’s sandbox survival title. It pays players via PayPal for scoring kills, but they must first buy-in to the mod’s server, creating something of a gambling slant. The developers of the original DayZ mod aren’t happy, stating that the monetisation angle ‘undermines’ Hall’s original vision, and is calling for the creators to cease development.

Speaking with VG247 via email, a member of the DayZ team outlined Bohemia and Hall’s stance on the pay to play nature of DayZ Bounty, and confirmed that none of the DayZ Bounty developers had been in touch with their team, “The DayZ development team and Bohemia Interactive is not involved or has had any contact with with DayZ Bounty and it’s creators.”

“While we fully support modifications created by the community,” the developer continued, “to improve the gaming experience for players of DayZ and ArmA II, we do not support their creators putting a cost on them. As commercially exploiting their small additions to DayZ undermines the work done by the original team.”

VG247 reported on the reveal of DayZ Bounty earlier today. It’s entirely unofficial and charges players between $5 to $20 to play. Participants can then earn money back for scoring kills, which are then paid back to the player via PayPal.

On the gambling angle, the DayZ spokesperson continued, “We believe that the elements of gambling that DayZ Bounty introduces challenges the basic game design aspects that DayZ is built upon. It changes the focus of DayZ from being a creative, enjoyable, gritty gaming experience to a game that is based almost solely on financial gain and that is not something we want to be associated with.”

Bohemia and the DayZ team will be looking to halt all development of the fan project, “We will be contacting the owners of the DayZ Bounty website directly over the coming days, to ask that they cease their activities in their current form.”

What do you think about the prospect of DayZ Bounty? Is the involvement of real currency as a gambling mechanic a step too far? Let us know below.