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State of Decay developer Undead Labs has addressed its recent departure from Xbox last month, revealing that recent layoffs require the team to make alterations to State of Decay 3. Studio head Phillip Holt shared in an interview with The Game Business that despite the downsizing, scope is not being dramatically altered, and the game is nearing completion.
The co-op zombie survival title holds a release window of 2027 announced this summer. Originally revealed back in 2020 during Microsoft's acquisition period, Holt explained the early announcement was intended to establish visibility before the studio could be divested or swallowed up by the larger gaming division.
Following summer restructuring plans from Xbox, Undead Labs successfully pursued a management buyout after an expected new-ownership deal failed to materialize. Although Holt declined to share specific figures regarding the layoffs due to personal heartbreak, he stressed the studio retains everything necessary to ship the project.
Operating independently provides a clearer line of sight directly to the audience without corporate directives. However, the title will still launch on Game Pass on day one, a platform Holt credited alongside the ongoing franchise success that reached 25 million players.
