6 Years After It Was First Announced, State of Decay 3 Finally Made a Comeback

Undead Labs’ State of Decay 3 has received a gameplay trailer as part of the latest Xbox Games Showcase, a full six years after the game was first announced. The actual state of State of Decay 3 had been a big unknown up until that point, and though it was established that the developer was still working on it, virtually everything else was up in the air.

State of Decay 2‘s final update rolled out in 2024, which means that fans of the franchise weren’t totally underserved all these years. The second title is still fully playable and loaded with dozens of updates’ worth of content and DLC, making it one of the better zombie survival sandboxes on the market. The franchise is otherwise fairly unique in its handling of the gameplay loop, where players manage a number of survivors as they scavenge, upgrade hideouts, source gear, and level up across a variety of open-world levels. As there are no no other similar titles on the market, State of Decay 3 doesn’t have to totally reinvent itself to stay relevant.

If This Big State of Decay 3 Leak Proves True, Its Tagline Couldn’t Be More Accurate

A recent leak about State of Decay 3 cropped up a few days ago, and if it ends up being true, then it could reflect the game’s tagline perfectly.

State of Decay 3 Gets Gameplay Reveal, Harkens Back to Old Games

State of Decay 3 was revealed much too early, before development had even begun. Yet, the good news is that the new trailer is chunkier than one might’ve expected, with virtually all the franchise’s iconic gameplay elements well represented. It follows a small group of survivors as they gear up and assault an undead hive to take out its central nervous system. Vehicles, customizable weapons, and randomized permadeath survivors are all present and accounted for, meaning this won’t be a follow-up in name only.

State of Decay 3 isn’t reinventing the series. The core gameplay loop is still centered around players taking control over an entire community of survivors dealing with the blood plague, and the key novelty is that the undead have started to evolve. For those that are concerned about the game’s post-launch longevity, the store pages have already confirmed that DLCs and content updates are coming. Presumably, State of Decay 2‘s Homecoming DLC serves as an example of the type of post-launch content Undead Labs aims to produce.

What’s That Weapon?

Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.

What’s That Weapon?

Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.

Easy (7.5s)Medium (5.0s)Hard (2.5s)Permadeath (2.5s)

As the trailer reveals, State of Decay 3 is intended to launch on Xbox Series, PlayStation 5, and PC platforms, which is curious given that some other titles shown off as part of the Xbox Games Showcase are not. Clockwork Revolution is an Xbox exclusive, for example. This confirms that Xbox is going to be at least somewhat picky in which first-party games launch on PlayStation and which ones will not, and it’s a marked departure from the company’s previous “Everything Is An Xbox” marketing campaign.

Due to its sandbox and free-form approach to the zombie apocalypse, one might argue that State of Decay 3 has advantages over other games in its niche. The heavy emphasis placed on permadeath mechanics, vehicle and weapon maintenance, and hideout upgrades actually puts it more in-line with the likes of Project Zomboid, though it’s difficult to compare any mainstream AAA title to Indie Stone’s egregiously complex survival game. With a bit of luck, State of Decay 3 will be able to bridge that gap.