DayZ (mod) in the context of Mod (video gaming)

DayZ is a multiplayer online survival video game developed and published by Bohemia Interactive. It is the standalone game based on the mod of the same name for Arma 2. Following a five-year-long early access period for Windows, the game was officially released in December 2018, and was released for the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 in 2019.

The game places the player in multiple fictional countries, where a mysterious plague has turned most of the population into violent "infected". As a survivor, the player must scavenge the world for food, water, weapons, and medicine, while killing or avoiding the infected, and killing, avoiding, or cooperating with other players in an effort to survive the outbreak.

Arma 2 is a 2009 tactical shooter simulation video game developed and published by Bohemia Interactive for Microsoft Windows. It is the second main entry in the Arma series and the third installment in the series overall. The game is set in the fictional Eastern European country of Chernarus during a civil war between the Chernarussian government and communist revolutionaries, and follows escalating tensions when the United States Marine Corps is deployed to defeat the rebels.

Arma 2 was first released on 29 May 2009 in Germany, with further releases in Europe, North America, and other regions throughout June and July of that year. The game was positively received by critics who, like its predecessor Arma: Armed Assault, praised its realism and accuracy but criticized its difficulty and bugs. Arma 2 has sold 2.3 million copies as of February 2015. Arma 2 maintains a significant modding community and is well-known as the origin of DayZ, a survival game conversion that was later developed into its own standalone game in 2018 and contributed to the development of the battle royale game genre.