In the wake of the latest round of reshuffles and retrenchments, Microsoft has confirmed that State of Decay 3 developer, Undead Labs, has reached an agreement with a new publisher that will keep the game alive.
Undead Labs will now continue working on State of Decay 3, with Microsoft confirming that the game will still launch on Xbox Game Pass day-one when its ready. The studio confirmed the news in an announcement of its own, confirming that it is now a completely “independent, employee-owned game development studio.”
“We’re enormously grateful for our years as part of XBOX and for everything that relationship has made possible,” says Philip Holt, Studio Head of Undead Labs. “Microsoft has been part of the State of Decay story from the very beginning, and we’re proud of everything we’ve accomplished together.”
Undead Labs was just one of several studios that Microsoft has offloaded in recent months, with Double Fine and Compulsion Games similarly finding futures away from the Xbox publishing arm. Ninja Theory has been less successful; however, the studio now on the brink of closure.
This news comes in the wake of a massive restructure across Microsoft Game Studios, with several studios now moving under new stewardship. Halo will now be developed under the guidance of Activision, with Rare and its current title, Sea of Thieves, following. Obsidian, which is working on a new Fallout, will now report to Bethesda, while Playground Games and Turn 10 are being merged for the future of the Forza franchise.
