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Online Co-op
May 1, 2026 at 05:13 PM
Initial online co-op page
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.
Aspect | Confirmed Info |
|---|---|
Player Count | Up to four players in a single shared session. |
Untethered Movement | Each player can roam the map independently, and everyone starts at their own point on the map. |
Shared Progress | Each player contributes to overall progress in the shared world. |
Server Hosting | The world is hosted on a server rather than purely on the host's machine, which is what enables untethered play. |
Shared Save Tech | The shared-save technology is built on the foundation used by Grounded. |
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.
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.
Co-op is paired with cross-play across PC and Xbox. See Cross-Platform Play for the platform list and Xbox Play Anywhere details.
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.
