Undead Labs has been keeping us busy with regular updates for State of Decay 2, but we’ve been waiting with bated breath for more news about its upcoming sequel, State of Decay 3. Announced back in 2020 with a teaser trailer, Undead Labs has since been quiet about State of Decay 3, but we finally have some juicy details to put together for everything we know so far about State of Decay 3.If you’re looking forward to exploring the co-op zombie survival sequel, keep an eye on this evolving article for all the latest State of Decay 3 news, which we’ll keep updated while we wait for it to leave our list of upcoming Game Pass games. Here’s everything we know about State of Decay 3.What is the State of Decay 3 release date?Unfortunately, we’re still waiting to learn when exactly we’ll be able to play State of Decay 3. It’s been four years since the game was announced during the Xbox Games Showcase in 2020, so we have our fingers crossed that it won’t be too much longer until that release window is in sight.What platforms will State of Decay 3 launch on?As it’s a first-party title, State of Decay 3 will launch on Xbox Series X|S and PC (Undead Labs hasn’t mentioned anything about Xbox One). There’s already a Steam page for it, so you’ll be able to play via Valve’s platform too!Is State of Decay 3 coming to Xbox Game Pass?Yes, Undead Labs is a first-party Xbox Game Studio, and as such, State of Decay 3 will launch into Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass on day one.What is the story and setting for State of Decay 3?So far, the State of Decay 3 Xbox Store page tells us that it “is an open-world survival game set years after a zombie apocalypse nearly wiped out humankind. As the zombie threat continues to claim lives, you must fight back and reclaim lost ground, carving out a life for your community of survivalist homesteaders.”If this sequel follows a similar structure to its predecessors, there will be narrative lines and missions to follow as you survive, but the overarching story will be controlled by you, as the emerging gameplay is the real storyteller for this franchise. Permadeath means you’ll lose beloved survivors, and the ever-present zombie threat will always keep you on your toes. Moments of hardship like that are what Undead Labs refers to as the “state of decay:” when things aren’t going to plan and get out of hand.An Xbox Wire post explained that the wall of remembrance seen during the game’s second trailer will play a larger role in shaping the narrative this time around, as Undead Labs wants to do a “better job of showing that sacrifice is meaningful” and how it impacts the community. Similar to the other games in the series, environmental storytelling will play a large role in State of Decay 3, which Undead Labs seems to be doubling down on for this sequel. “We are putting tons of work into making sure what we put on the screen looks like it’s ours and belongs in our world,” studio art director Wayne Laybourn told Xbox Wire. “Everything tells a story, from the scratches and bite marks on the wooden stock of a gun, to the way your beloved vehicle has been assembled.”What type of game is State of Decay 3?State of Decay 3 is an open-world zombie survival game that tasks you with scavenging resources and leading a group of survivors to persevere during a zombie apocalypse. Its two predecessors are played via a third-person over-the-shoulder viewpoint, but Undead Labs is yet to reveal if State of Decay 3 will feature the same gameplay. “It’s always been important to us that State of Decay is a kind of every person’s survival experience,” Undead Labs’ studio head and head of product Philip Holt told Xbox Wire. “This is not a hero’s journey as a sort of literary structure. Instead, the world of State of Decay is the story of environmental transformation, which reveals the things that are already inherently worthy in our survivors. Things like ingenuity, resilience, adaptability, collectivism — those are the traits that lead to survival.”Combat plays a significant role in State of Decay, and Undead Labs is emphasizing “engaging co-op combat.” State of Decay 3’s creative director Kevin Patzelt says the team has adapted how it approaches level design and world-building, as well as “deepening our combat systems, our designs for enemy behaviors, and our animation fidelity to level up the moment-to-moment experience across the board.” What’s more, with State of Decay 3 being developed using Unreal Engine 5, we can expect the visual experience to feel more “brutal and visceral” but “believable and grounded.”Will State of Decay 3 have multiplayer?Yes, State of Decay 3 will follow its predecessor with four-player co-op, except this time Undead Labs will be loosening the boundaries imposed on players in the previous game. Undead Labs worked with Grounded developer Obsidian Entertainment to improve its shared world experience so State of Decay 3 doesn’t feel like a “ride along” experience for players who aren’t the game’s host.In this installment, it appears that we can expect shared saves so the world we inhabit with our friends is a “truly open co-op world owned by multiple players.”Will State of Decay 3 feature customization?State of Decay 3 takes place several years after the outbreak, and as such, the resources which were available for use in the previous game are now becoming scarce. The survivors have adapted to this new world, however, and Undead Labs says you’ll find that they’re far more resourceful in this installment. Clothing, weapons, and supplies have been modified to accommodate the resources available, so you can “expect weapons to have mismatched barrels with heavily modified magazines, or clothing reinforced with armor plates,” and the like.The new system will let you customize your gear in new ways, such as steadily upgrading weapons over time instead of just picking up generic gear when scavenging. State of Decay 3 achievement listWe don’t yet have the State of Decay 3 achievements, but we’ll be sure to update here when we do!State of Decay 3 trailersState of Decay 3 was first announced in 2020 via a short teaser cinematic trailer, offering us a look at a survivor in a wooded area who comes across a zombified deer eating the corpse of a wolf.We then got another look at State of Decay 3 in 2024 via a longer trailer using in-game assets all rendered from the game to depict a typical co-op combat scenario. The trailer gave us a look at four survivors attempting to defend themselves from a wave of zombies, and one survivor is even killed during the struggle — setting the tone for the game to come.That’s just a small number of details for the upcoming game, and we’ll make sure to update this article as Undead Labs reveals more. If you fancy checking out State of Decay 2 while you wait for this installment, we think it’s one of the best Xbox zombie games.
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