Key information
Undead Labs revealed plans for State of Decay 3 alongside a beta announcement, while former studio head Jeff Strain opened up about the intense internal anxiety the team experienced while under Xbox ownership.
Strain explained in an interview with The Game Business that the survival game was prematurely revealed due to fear of corporate restructuring. The team worried that amidst rapid acquisitions, Microsoft might absorb or sell the studio before it could showcase a new project.
Because of these fears, the game was shown prematurely on 23 de julio de 2020, with a promise of a future release on Xbox Game Pass. At the time of that reveal, only a small team was working on the title, meaning most of the shown content was merely conceptual and will not reflect the final product. Active development did not begin until 2023.
Undead Labs is now independent, and State of Decay 3 remains in development with a target window of 2027. Players can currently sign up via Discord to test the game on PC during an upcoming first beta, though specific dates and content details were not disclosed, and console testing will arrive later.
