State of Decay 3 Is Not Cancelled, and Undead Labs is Working Hard

One of the many gaming studios affected by last month's Xbox restructuring was Undead Labs, the developers behind the State of Decay franchise, who had only just broken a long silence to share new details on the long-awaited third installment. It's also emerged that Undead Labs is no longer under Microsoft's ownership, with negotiations for a new publisher reportedly still underway.

Given all that, fans worried it could hurt State of Decay 3's development, potentially even leading to the game’s cancellation, as it was announced back in 2020 and still has no set release date. However, according to YouTuber Sunny Games, the studio hasn't stopped working on the project, and development is apparently in full swing. He claims the game is already in a new Alpha 2 phase, with real progress being made, and that State of Decay 3 is looking noticeably better than its predecessor.

At June's Xbox Games Showcase, Undead Labs revealed the first gameplay footage from State of Decay 3 and shared some official details. The developers are aiming to build the most realistic open-world zombie survival simulator possible, a goal they've emphasized multiple times. Judging by the early footage, the world will be even more brutal than in past installments, with team survival mattering more than ever. The studio also confirmed the map will be roughly four times larger than the second game's and fully accessible from the start. State of Decay 3 will feature shared-world co-op for up to four players in a persistent world, similar to Grounded's approach, along with a Plague Nests system—evolving zombie hubs with distinct "personas"—an improved combat system, weapon crafting, expanded enclaves, and more.

State of Decay 3 is confirmed to be released in 2027 for PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5; the exact release date is currently unknown.