Last updated: 23rd May 2016

This it the old terms and conditions!

The current terms, as of 6th October, 2022, are here

projectzomboid.com/terms

Hello survivor! Here’s the scoop on what you are allowed to do, and what you’re not allowed to do, through the purchase and continuing use of our game and forums! Hooray!

First off:

Project Zomboid is created and owned by The Indie Stone Limited. These Terms also apply to our Indie Stone forums at http://theindiestone.com/forums/. If you don’t agree to these terms, please don’t purchase/install/use Project Zomboid or our forums.

When you purchase Project Zomboid, you are paying for the product as it stands at that point in time. Purchases made while Project Zomboid is being developed are discounted and include the full game upon release.

The Indie Stone are resolute in their determination to continue working on Project Zomboid for many years to come, but your purchase is the game ‘as is’, rather than for future milestone builds in the PZ road-map.

All purchases apply to PC, Mac and Linux desktop versions of the current game only – and not any potential future sequels or offshoots or ports related to the game.

By purchasing Project Zomboid or using our forums, this is what you are permitted to do:

The golden rule is that you can do what you want with Project Zomboid as long as it promotes Project Zomboid and is not for commercial purposes (i.e. for your own profit – unless we approved that in advance) or for malicious/illegal purposes.

Some examples of what we mean are below.  If you have any doubts or questions about whether you can or can’t do something, contact us first at info@theindiestone.com instead of just doing/not doing it!  If you’re not sure what any of this means, please ask us first (and our reasonable determination is final!)

We give you a licence to:

• Change or distribute the base files or contents in any way you like, provided that those changes do not result in you making Project Zomboid available to play or download (this includes making it available open source), or are for the purposes of cheating, unauthorised hacking, exploits or griefing other people or are malicious or illegal in intent or practice.

• Use art, music, video footage or other assets of Project Zomboid for creative purposes in any way you like providing the end result is related in some way to promoting Project Zomboid, is for non-commercial use only (unless we agreed otherwise with you) and states Project Zomboid as its influence and origin by supplying the following wording prominently with the assets: “Thanks to The Indie Stone for creating Project Zomboid http://projectzomboid.com/), which made this possible. This is an unofficial fan production for non-commercial purposes made under the Indie Stone Terms [link to these terms]“

• If you use any third party contents, IP, software or tools together with Project Zomboid then it’s your responsibility to make sure you have all the necessary licences and permissions etc. We can’t be responsible for you.

• If you are concerned that your intellectual property rights may have been infringed, please see our IP Rights Policy.

• You can make gameplay footage or “Let’s Play” type videos on YouTube or other online video platforms, and monetise them if you like too. Again, you’re responsible for them.

This means that we still own Project Zomboid and everything in it, plus our forums too. It’s just that we’re giving you the right to play around with the game, as explained above.

Just in case it wasn’t clear from earlier, you are not permitted to:

• Modify the base files of Project Zomboid to include malicious code or other naughtiness.

• Distribute Project Zomboid yourself, or host its download. In order to ensure the game’s integrity we recommend it should only ever be downloaded from established portals on which we’ve placed it (e.g. Steam).

In terms of the modding of PZ, you also agree that:

• The Indie Stone reserve the right to implement any features in the game irrespective of whether mods exist that accomplish the same goal.

[The Indie Stone are free to use any ideas found in user mods, and while we will give credit if we genuinely use ideas directly from mods – we are not required to give credit or remuneration of any kind. This is purely because people may create mods that are already part of the PZ roadmap, and we don’t want to be dragged into ‘this was my idea’ arguments. The Indie Stone will of course fall over themselves to credit any mod author we genuinely use ideas from.]

• PZ modders are solely responsible for their mod, including (but not limited to compliance with any hosting platforms (such as Steam Workshop). They are also responsible for obtaining third party consents for any third party materials in the mod. Legally, we have to ask that modders to ‘represent and warrant’ (i.e. promise legally) that their mod is their own original work and any third party contents are fully and properly licensed by the modder.

• PZ users are responsible for their usage of PZ mods – we don’t check them and we can’t be responsible for them.

• Creation of mods is subject to our modding guidelines, which may be updated from time to time with any technical requirements regarding how PZ mods must work.

• Project Zomboid modders are free to receive monetary/gift donations from the players who use their releases, and appreciate the time and effort put into them. However having mods created exclusively for those who choose to donate (or separate ‘in-mod’ content and bonuses) is not allowed. Mod creators cannot sell modifications to Project Zomboid.

People running PZ servers should also read this bit:

If you are a server owner then charging those who play on it is, of course, totally fine. You can clearly run whatever mods you like on it too, so long as they fit within our guidelines.

The Indie Stone, however, do NOT encourage or allow server owners to charge for specific items, mods or gameplay that is made and distributed exclusively for said server. Beyond server access, we do not approve of monetising any aspect of the game proper.

[Explanation: although we recognise that most server owners wouldn’t allow for ‘pay to win’ mods such as ‘a shotgun with infinite ammo for $40’ – we have to guard against this, as some server owners could. As such a blanket policy against this sort of server is our chosen course of action.

Our modding guidelines also state that we do not allow mods to be sold (unless we gave our approval first) – and, although a slightly different set-up, server-specific game modifications alongside a financial exchange fall far enough inside this bracket to create a grey area. Given time this could be exploited, and as such we feel that from the outset we shouldn’t allow, encourage or support it.]

Working with contributors:

Project Zomboid is a passion project for both its developers and a community with whom we often work hand-in-hand. Examples of this include internal build testing, translation and advice from platform experts. This is done in return for our gratitude, a game credit and a shared sense of Zomboid loveliness.

Any other form of remuneration for contributions from outside of the The Indie Stone will always be officially agreed in writing – away from the forum – before any work takes place on the part of either developer or contributor. This covers all development up to this point, and everything in future Zomboid builds.

Should The Indie Stone and a contributor join forces to bring a user modification into the official Project Zomboid build all remuneration will be discussed at that time. There is no automatic entitlement to any past, current or future revenue of Project Zomboid or for any other payments from The Indie Stone to a contributor unless they’ve agreed it expressly in writing.

Any other business:

We may collect anonymised information about your usage of Project Zomboid or our forums from time to time for the purpose of improving or protecting them.  We won’t collect any personal data from you unless you give it to us with your consent.  Our forums have their own privacy policy at http://theindiestone.com/forums/index.php/privacypolicy/.

The Indie Stone reserve the right to change this terms: we’ll post the amended terms on our site and they’ll take effect a reasonable period afterwards.  If you disagree with any of the changes please contact us ASAP at info@theindiestone.com

The Indie Stone is based in the UK so if there’s any kind of legal stuff or dispute about Project Zomboid – they’ll be governed by English Law and by the English Courts.

That’s pretty much it. We don’t want a million rules, but this document should make it clear what our promises to you are. That said these rules are here for a reason – so if you break any of them we reserve the right to suspend or take away your access to Project Zomboid or our forums, or do anything else we deem necessary.

If you have any questions feel free to get in touch with us at info@theindiestone.com

TL;DR:

Do what the hell you want, just don’t take the piss.