Age of Z Origins: A Zombie Strategy MMO Worth Your Time?

By Nham Vu · Updated July 2026

Age of Z Origins is a base-building strategy MMO from Camel Games, released back in September 2018 and still getting content drops today. I've spent a good chunk of time in this one over the years, mostly because the zombie-apocalypse setting gives Camel Games an excuse to layer in tower-defense combat on top of the usual city-building loop, and that combination actually works better than it sounds on paper.

This piece walks through what the game is, how the core systems fit together, and the things that trip up new commanders in their first few weeks. I'll also flag the parts of the game that draw the most criticism, since that's a question a lot of players ask before committing to a server.

What is Age of Z Origins and who made it?

Age of Z Origins is a strategy title built and published by Camel Games Inc. (with CamelStudio and Hong Kong Ke Mo software also credited), first launched in September 2018 for Android and iOS, with a Windows client available too. The premise is straightforward: a zombie outbreak has wrecked civilization, and you're rebuilding a city while fending off the infected and rival commanders at the same time.

What separates it from a plain city-builder is the tower-defense layer bolted onto base defense. When your city gets attacked, you're not just watching numbers resolve, you're placing turrets and traps along lanes the way you would in a dedicated TD game. That's the hook that keeps a lot of players around past the tutorial.

Is Age of Origins free to play?

Yes, Age of Z Origins is free to download and play on mobile and PC, and it makes its money through an in-game currency called AOZ coins along with various bundles and a VIP progression track. You can play competitively without spending, but resource speed and troop training queues move noticeably faster for players who invest.

In practice this means early game is friendly to free players, and the gap widens once you're competing for top alliance rankings or contested territory. That's fairly standard for the genre, but it's worth knowing going in rather than getting surprised by it mid-server.

What are the criticisms of Age of Origins?

The most common complaints from long-time players center on pay-to-win pressure in mid-to-late game, aggressive event pacing that punishes anyone who takes a few days off, and the usual mobile-strategy grind once you hit the higher city levels. Players on Reddit have also pointed out how closely the game's structure mirrors other Camel Games titles, and competitors like State of Survival, which isn't a criticism of quality exactly but does mean the formula will feel familiar if you've played one of these before.

Billing complaints show up occasionally too, usually tied to auto-renewing subscription bundles that people forget they enabled. None of this is unusual for the genre, but it's the honest answer to what turns players off after the honeymoon phase.

How do you play Age of Z Origins as a beginner?

New players should spend their first week following the main questline closely, since it hands out resources and speedups far faster than anything else in the game. The biggest early mistake I see is commanders scattering resources across too many buildings instead of rushing key upgrades that unlock new unit tiers and defensive structures.

A few things worth prioritizing early on:

• Finish the tutorial questline fully before exploring the open map
• Upgrade your Headquarters and resource buildings before troop-heavy structures
• Join an active alliance immediately for shared buffs and rescue support
• Keep a shield up when you're offline for long stretches until your defenses are solid
• Save free gems for troop training speedups rather than cosmetic pulls

Can you play Age of Z Origins on PC or iPhone?

Age of Z Origins runs natively on Android and iOS, and Camel Games also offers a Windows PC client, so you're not stuck emulating it if you'd rather play on a bigger screen. The PC version mirrors the mobile UI closely, which makes switching between devices painless if you manage an account on both.

There's no official PlayStation release, so anyone searching for an Age of Origins PS5 version is out of luck for now. Your realistic options are phone, tablet, or the desktop client.

What makes the alliance and combat systems stand out?

Alliances are the backbone of the late game here, coordinating rally attacks on zombie strongholds, defending shared territory, and running research that benefits every member. A city that's part of a coordinated alliance progresses noticeably faster than a solo player grinding the same content alone.

Combat itself splits into two flavors. Field battles against zombie hives and other players use a more traditional troop-composition system, while base defense pulls in the tower-defense mechanic I mentioned earlier. Titans, the game's boss-tier zombies, add another wrinkle by requiring specific gear and troop setups to bring down.