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Overview

State of Decay 3 is an open-world zombie survival game in development at Undead Labs and published by Xbox Game Studios. The game continues the studio's signature blend of scavenging, combat, and survivor community management, under the banner "No One Survives Alone." As of June 7, 2026 the game is in pre-launch development and aiming for a 2027 release, and the closed alpha playtest's first wave has begun rolling out invitations to selected sign-ups.

The studio has been transparent that the original 2020 reveal trailer was a pre-rendered concept piece produced before the game team was fully assembled. Co-creator Brant Fitzgerald has clarified, in announcing the May 2026 alpha, that elements such as zombie wildlife shown in the early concept will not appear in the final game.

Quick Facts

Setting and Theme

State of Decay 3 takes place further into the future than the earlier games, when the surviving communities have become more hardened and the zombies themselves are more decayed. It is set years after a zombie apocalypse, and the player's choices affect in-game events and the lives of survivors in their community. The world is described as picked-over and deeply scarred by the plague, with the infestation visibly evolving across structures in the form of pink, brain-like tendrils that spread throughout the environment. Survivors craft and modify their own gear from salvaged components, since clean factory weapons and fresh supplies have largely been used up in the years since the outbreak.

Headline Features

• Open-world survival on a single shared map, with multiple starting locations for different player characters.

• Four-player online co-op with untethered movement, so each player can roam the world independently.

• Rebuilt combat in Unreal Engine 5 with reactive enemy responses, dismemberment, and vehicle-based attacks.

• Permadeath survivors with new narrative reactions when a community member dies.

• Base building and resource strategy systems redesigned for the third entry.

• Cross-play between Xbox Series X|S, Steam, and the Microsoft Store, with Xbox Play Anywhere support.

• A dedicated single-player mode alongside co-op, with difficulty that scales up as more players join a session.

• A shared open world about four times the size of a single map from the previous game in the series, fully open from the start, with the plague growing in power if it is left unchecked.

At the June 2026 reveal the game was announced as a day-one release on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass. After Undead Labs left Xbox in July 2026 the game is no longer required to launch on Game Pass, so its subscription availability is not currently confirmed.

Development Partners

Undead Labs is the lead developer. The Coalition (the Gears of War studio) is consulting on Unreal Engine 5, combat, animations, and enemy AI. The shared-world and shared-save technology builds on work from Grounded, with help from Obsidian Entertainment. Co-development support is also coming from Blind Squirrel Entertainment and Wushu Studios.

Where to Start

Read the Closed Alpha Playtest page for the May 2026 sign-up details and what is being tested. For confirmed mechanics, see Gameplay Basics, Combat, Base Building, and Survivor Community. For multiplayer, see Online Co-Op and Cross-Platform Play.

Development Status

State of Decay 3 remains in active development and has not been cancelled. Undead Labs has continued running closed alpha playtests, and the studio reaffirmed a 2027 target across PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5.

In July 2026, Undead Labs confirmed that it is leaving Xbox and moving to new ownership, following a wider reset of Microsoft's games business. The studio told its community that State of Decay 3 is still coming, that the team is working hard, and that its commitment to the community is stronger than ever. Xbox said that none of its publicly announced games are being cancelled and that the affected studios were joining new owners with funding to finish and grow their games. As part of leaving Xbox, State of Decay 3 is no longer required to launch on Xbox Game Pass, so its day-one Game Pass availability is no longer confirmed. The new owner has not been publicly named, and further details are expected later in 2026. Undead Labs continues to run closed alpha playtests and still targets a 2027 release on PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5. This section will be updated as the new ownership and publishing arrangements are officially confirmed.

Status

This article reflects publicly confirmed information as of early July 2026. Many systems described by Undead Labs publicly so far remain high-level, and exact numbers, recipes, and rosters will be filled in as the closed alpha and subsequent reveals confirm specifics in the playable build.

State of Decay 3 received its first gameplay reveal at the Xbox Games Showcase on June 7, 2026. The studio confirmed the game is aiming for a 2027 release and that it is also coming to PlayStation 5 alongside Xbox Series X|S and PC. Creative Director Kevin Patzelt stated that everything shown in the reveal is in-game footage with no pre-rendered CGI. The trailer showed open-world exploration, settlement building, four-player co-op, weapon crafting, and the new Plague Nests. The studio continues to expand its alpha and beta playtest waves toward launch.