Project Zomboid NPCs
The Indie Stone

Does Project Zomboid have NPCs Yet? – Answered

A long time waiting

Project Zomboid, despite its popularity, has continued to remain in early access since 2013, and the state of NPCs has undergone a major change in the development cycle. Many new players joining in 2024 have often wondered if the game has any NPC present in it at all.

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Does Project Zomboid Have NPCs in 2024?

As of April 2024, there are no official NPCs in Project Zomboid. They used to be present before, and those who started the journey in the very beginning may remember them. However, that all changed around the development cycle when the NPCs were completely removed from the game. Since then, there hasn’t been a re-emergence at all.

In the past, the NPCs would be found all around Knox County. They will engage in different activities that would range from basic survival to active combat. That’s now long gone, but there are plans for NPCs to return eventually. The official Steam page of Project Zomboid is the biggest evidence.

On the official Steam page, there’s a list of planned features that are likely going to be introduced with future updates. So far, there hasn’t been any information about when NPCs will be added back, so players will have to be patient. The introduction of animals did introduce a type of similar mechanics, although it’s expected that fully-designed NPCs will exhibit a lot more complex behaviors.

How to Add NPCs in Project Zomboid?

The areas that lack due to the speed of developers have been filled in by the wonderful community. The zombie survival title has plenty of interesting mods that can be found all over Steam Workshop. All someone needs to do is to find one of the many available mods, and subscribe to it.

Once the mod starts working properly, players will be able to enjoy NPCs, or something close to what The Indie Stone might implement in the near future. It’s worth noting that some of the mods might have glitches, but there are some great ones. It’s always easier to search by ratings or subscription volume to find the better ones.


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About the Author

Arka Sarkar

Arka is a staff writer at Prima Games who leads the coverage for FC 24. Previously, he has worked at Sportskeeda for about 2 and a half years, where he cover multiple video games as a writer and later, as a content specialist. When he's not working, Arka can be found playing video games (mostly FC 24 of course), reading books, or watching live sports. He also has double masters in Economics and Education, and he's certified to teach kids at high school level.