Undead Labs is a studio that loves killing zombies so much that it ensured that the living dead is baked into its persona. We’ve had two zombie-centric State of Decay games from the studio so far, but how does it rank?With two games under its belt and a third on its way, we’re looking at Undead Labs’ early history, projects, and latest news to discern where it ranks within the growing roster of Xbox Game Studios.Undead Labs OverviewSeattle-based Undead Labs was founded on November 29th, 2009, by World of Warcraft co-creator and former Guild Wars executive producer and programmer, Jeff Strain, and as the name suggests, the studio was created with zombies at the forefront of its intentions. Strain’s plan from the start was to “create the definitive massively multiplayer online zombie game (MMOZ) for console gamers,” and it was to be achieved by gathering talented developers that had a love for zombies. In fact, when Undead Labs was announced, Strain said: “Every time I see a good zombie movie with friends, we spend days debating our strategies for surviving the zombie apocalypse,” so it’s easy to see where the series gets its inspiration from. In 2011 Undead Labs announced that it was working on a title called Class3, which would later go on to be named State of Decay, for Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA) and that the studio had signed with (then titled) Microsoft Studios, for a multi-year partnership. A Q+A on the Undead Labs website notes that Microsoft was “a true partner,” so it seems to have been an easy decision for Undead Labs — it also helps that other publishers wanted the team “to work on yet another World of Warcraft clone,” but Microsoft appreciated Undead’s vision for a “zombie-survival online world.””A real zombie experience is not about killing zombies,” Strain told Polygon. “You can’t take a military shooter and redress it with zombies and call it a zombie game. You’re not Rambo with a big gun getting points for how many zombies you can mow down; you’re making decisions about how you survive, manage resources, interact with other survivors. It’s the moral decisions you make.” At the time of State of Decay’s announcement, the zombie genre was flourishing, thanks to the likes of World War Z, Zombieland, The Walking Dead comics, and plenty of others. People wanted to slay reanimated corpses, and it had overtaken fantasy fiction in popularity. Due to the genre being so popular, Strain commented on the difficulties of announcing a zombie-focused game: “Anybody who goes out there right now and announces a new zombie game is going to get eye-rolls because it is very popular right now,” Strain continued. “For many, many years the same was true about fantasy. If you had a game with dragons and elves in it, people rolled their eyes.” Undead Labs’ take on the zombie survival experience paid off in the end, though, as State of Decay’s launch was spectacular.Fast forward to June 5th, 2013, State of Decay was released on the Xbox 360 as an Xbox Arcade title, selling more than 250,000 copies in its first two days. Five months later, on September 20th, despite Undead Labs not having planned it originally, the game launched into Steam Early Access on Windows PCs, followed by a full release on November 5th. By November 30th, Undead Labs announced that State of Decay had sold more than a million copies globally, and with the game having an average Metacritic score of 78/100 on Xbox 360 and 79/100 on PC, it’s easy to see why. Many of the reviews homed in on the game’s fresh gameplay ideas, worldbuilding, and simulation elements, but felt that the technical issues were a glaring problem. It most certainly didn’t affect State of Decay’s popularity, as the whole experience was a new way to partake in a zombie apocalypse, and that was highlighted many times by various publications.Originally the game was refused a rating by the Australian Classification Board on June 25th, which stopped Undead’s zombie hoards from entering the region. According to the board, State of Decay “enables the player’s character to self-administer prescribed drugs which aid in gameplay progression. This game, therefore, contains drug use related to incentives or rewards, and should be refused classification.” The board was referring to the in-game use of various drugs like methadone, morphine, amphetamines, ibuprofen, aspirin, and a host of other medications, both illicit and prescribed, that boosts the player character’s health and stamina levels. These were quickly changed to vitamins and supplements by Undead Labs, which the developer humorously posted on its social accounts: “Stimulants out! ‘Supplements’ in,”, and on July 11th the Australian Classification Board gave the game an R18+ rating. After a very successful launch for State of Decay with Microsoft publishing, Jeff Strain announced on the Undead Labs blog on January 11th, 2014, that the studio had signed a multi-title, multi-year agreement with Microsoft Studios and that “there are big things going on with State of Decay.” This of course hinted at State of Decay 2, but that wouldn’t be announced for another two years. Almost two years after its initial release, on April 28th, 2015, Undead Labs dropped the game’s enhanced edition, State of Decay: Year-One Edition, for Xbox One and PC. This version introduced 1080p visuals, new weapons, vehicles, and characters, as well as included the two DLC packs that were released for the original version. The new edition fell behind the original release by six points on Metacritic, earning an average score of 72/100 on Xbox One. While many believed that the amount of content it provided made it great value for money, its graphical and technical foibles let it down, leaving it feeling less enhanced and more of a bundle.State of Decay is an action-adventure game that blends survival horror elements with stealth gameplay, and tasks you with leading a group of survivors against the hordes of undead that have swarmed the fictional location of Trumble. What makes the game, and now the series, stand out from other titles in the genre is its ability to incorporate strategic elements into the zombie survival gameplay. Fighting the reanimated corpses is only half the battle in State of Decay, as its simulation mechanics require you to manage your group’s needs, build and defend your base camp and outposts, scavenge for supplies, and a host of other activities to help everyone survive the experience.When Undead Labs originally announced State of Decay, it was titled “Class 3,” a single-player experience that would build the foundations for their next game, aptly titled “Class 4.” The plan was to develop a mass multiplayer zombie survival game, but after the success of State of Decay as a single-player experience, and after the game’s fans asked for it, Undead Labs ditched its plans for an MMO-style sequel, and instead focused on building on the gameplay elements found within the first title. State of Decay 2, however, did introduce co-op play, and it’s only helped bolster the series’ popularity.Undead Labs’ previous project — State of Decay 2: Juggernaut EditionAfter the awesome success of State of Decay, it was only a matter of time until we would expect to see a follow-up title, and during Microsoft’s E3 2016 briefing, Undead Labs announced that State of Decay 2 was on its way. After a year’s delay, State of Decay launched exclusively for Xbox One, Windows PC, and Xbox Game Pass on May 22nd, 2018. Initial impressions were mixed for this one, with the game receiving average Metacritic scores of 66/100 on Xbox One and 69/100 for PC. Much like its predecessor, State of Decay 2 fell below expectations for its technical performance and the number of bugs that plagued the gameplay. Its combat was praised, though, and nothing stopped hordes of players from downloading the game, potentially due to its inclusion with Xbox Game Pass. On May 25th, 2018, Aaron Greenberg announced on Xbox Wire that State of Decay 2 had been played by more than a million players, a figure that would rise to three million by June and then five million in August. The most recent figures released by Undead Labs in August 2021, put the game’s total player count above ten million. The game’s continued success is in a no small part a byproduct of Undead Labs’ consistent support, and the fact that the world can be explored with up to four players. It’s a co-op survival experience that doesn’t really have much competition due to the simulation and management aspects of its gameplay. It’s also a cross-play and Xbox Play Anywhere title, so it draws from a large pool of players without separating them from each other. Just like the first game in the series, State of Decay 2’s launch was followed up with DLC and an enhanced edition (State of Decay 2: Juggernaut Edition) which was available to all players for free and introduced a new lighting system and visual improvements.Undead Labs’ future project — State of Decay 3There hasn’t been a huge amount said about State of Decay 3 since its announcement during the Xbox Games Showcase in 2020, which only offered a cinematic trailer. According to a report by Kotaku, though, State of Decay 3 has been stuck in the pre-production stages since the announcement while Undead Labs tackles issues surrounding workplace discrimination, toxicity, and burnout. According to the report, Undead Labs was pressured into announcing the game before it was ready, which was followed by a rushed internal demo for Microsoft’s leadership team. We’re not holding our breath for any solid details about the studio’s next game to be coming anytime soon — not until the internal issues have been resolved, at least.How does Undead Labs rank?Undead Labs has a history of releasing its games in less than a fully polished state, and while the worlds are indeed exciting and a change of pace from other titles in the genre, the number of bugs that plague them ultimately tarnishes the studio’s reputation. While its next title could could change that, the recent reports that have come from the studio’s developers don’t fill us with too much optimism, especially as it paints Undead Labs in a state of decay itself. We are optimistic for the future, though, and the past has shown us that the studio is fantastic at building post-apocalyptic worlds with both State of Decay and State of Decay 2, which is why we’ve decided to give it a C ranking. We would love to see Undead Labs’ upcoming game launch with a level of polish that compliments the team’s obvious talent for building immersive co-op experiences around a zombie apocalypse. C TierCAn up-and-coming studio, or one struggling to realise its potentialBut that’s just what we think, and we would love to know what ranking you would give Undead Labs. Let us know your thoughts by dropping a comment below and popping a vote in the poll!How would you rank Undead Labs?
S — A world-class studio executing at an exceptional level
A — A studio with a fantastic portfolio, and the talent to impress further
B — A studio capable of greatness, but has more to offer
C — An up-and-coming studio, or one struggling to realise its potential
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