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11 Overview
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33 State of Decay 3 supports online co-op for up to four players. Co-op is one of the headline features highlighted by Undead Labs and is one of the four focus areas of the May 2026 closed alpha. The co-op model is described as untethered, which means players are not bound to the host's location and can split up across the world map.
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55 How Co-op Works
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77 AspectConfirmed InfoPlayer CountUp to four players in a single shared session.Untethered MovementEach player can roam the map independently, and everyone starts at their own point on the map.Shared ProgressEach player contributes to overall progress in the shared world.Server HostingThe world is hosted on a server rather than purely on the host's machine, which is what enables untethered play.Shared Save TechThe shared-save technology is built on the foundation used by Grounded.
88 Why Untethered Co-op Matters
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10-The previous game in the series tied co-op players to the host through a movement leash, which became a long-running point of community feedback. Co-creator Brant Fitzgerald has acknowledged this directly in the alpha announcement, saying the team has been listening to that feedback. In the third game, four players can pursue different objectives in different parts of the same world at the same time, which changes how groups split labor between scavenging, defending the base, and tackling combat objectives.
10+The previous game in the series tied co-op players to the host through a movement leash, which became a long-running point of community feedback. Co-creator Brant Fitzgerald has acknowledged this directly when announcing the closed alpha, saying the team has been listening to that feedback. In the third game, four players can pursue different objectives in different parts of the same world at the same time, which changes how groups split labor between scavenging, defending the base, and tackling combat objectives.
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1212 What Is Not Yet Public
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1414 Specifics about progression saving across sessions, character ownership rules when a host or guest leaves, drop-in or drop-out behavior, and matchmaking flow have not yet been publicly confirmed for the third game. These details will be filled in as the closed alpha and later reveals make them concrete.
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1616 Cross-Play
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1818 Co-op is paired with cross-play across PC and Xbox. See Cross-Platform Play for the platform list and Xbox Play Anywhere details.
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2020 Status
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22-Player count and untethered co-op behavior are confirmed via the official Steam page, the April 2026 alpha announcement, and the June 2024 Xbox Showcase developer interview.
22+Information on this page reflects publicly confirmed details as of May 2, 2026. Specifics will be expanded as the playable build reveals more.