The game's map is based off of Prince Edward Island or PEI for short however, it is planned to be replaced by a map that is 16x larger, rendering the "PEI" map incompatible. The game is continually being updated to add more features and mechanics, as well as fixing current ones that do not function as intended. The first attempt to get greenlit failed however, it was later successfully greenlit and is now available on Steam. Unturned was originally listed under Steam Greenlight as Unturned 2 and was rated #3 of all Greenlight games. Unturned was developed by Nelson Sexton, a seventeen-year old from Canada. These skills can affect simple things, such as doing more damage with either a melee weapon or ranged weapon, to increasing vitality or lowering the rate at which the player dehydrates or starves. As the player progresses through the game, they gain experience points from killing zombies or gathering resources which can then be used for skills. In Gold mode, the standard loot drop rate is increased, experience gain is doubled, and special cosmetic options for the character and interface are unlocked. The last game mode, only available to those who purchased the 5 dollar upgrade, is the Gold mode.
The third game mode, Hardcore has a variety of changes, where some of the UI (User Interface) is removed, and various things are made harder.
On this setting, there are standard spawns and nothing added or subtracted. In the first difficulty level, Easy, the players start off with three items and loot spawns are 50% greater than the game's next difficulty setting, Normal. The game has three difficulty levels, with an additional being a premium add-on. Players must find weapons to survive against zombies as well as find supplies to keep from dying of either starvation, thirst, or disease. The game starts by dropping the player off on either the Prince Edward Island (PEI) in Canada or Arena maps with little to nothing in their possession.