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Overview
State of Decay 3 is built in Unreal Engine 5. Undead Labs has identified the move to Unreal Engine 5 as the technical foundation for the third game's combat, dismemberment, and reactive enemy responses, and the studio is working with several other developers on engine and gameplay implementation. The engine choice frames most of the third game's confirmed visual and combat upgrades over previous entries in the series.
Why Unreal Engine 5
Undead Labs has publicly framed the engine choice around three goals: more reactive combat against the undead, deeper enemy behaviours and animation fidelity, and higher visual quality for the open world. Creative Director Kevin Patzelt has said the studio is "deepening combat systems, designs for enemy behaviours, and animation fidelity" to improve the moment-to-moment experience, which is the brief that the engine and partner studios are building toward.
Confirmed Engine Features
Feature | What is Confirmed |
|---|---|
Reactive Combat | Enemies respond to hits with more dynamic, situation-aware animations, so attacks feel like they connect with a specific body part rather than playing a generic stagger. |
Dismemberment | Enhanced dismemberment is confirmed as a visual upgrade, so weapon strikes can sever limbs and target exposed weak points on infected enemies. |
Plague Visuals | The plague visibly evolves across the world. Pink, brain-like tendrils spread across buildings and infrastructure, which Undead Labs has described as showing how the infestation alters the environment. |
Shared World | A single shared open world is hosted on a server so that four-player co-op players can roam independently rather than being tethered to a host. |
Shared Save Tech | The shared-save technology builds on the foundation used by Grounded. |
Co-Development Partners
Undead Labs is the lead developer. Several other studios are contributing to the engine and gameplay implementation:
Partner | Role |
|---|---|
The Coalition | Consulting on Unreal Engine 5 implementation, combat, animations, and enemy AI. The Coalition is the studio behind the Gears of War series. |
Obsidian Entertainment | Assisting with the shared-world feature. The shared-save foundation builds on technology used in Grounded. |
Blind Squirrel Entertainment | Co-development support. |
Wushu Studios | Co-development support. |
Engine Targets and Platforms
The third game targets PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5. Steam and the Microsoft Store are confirmed PC storefronts, and Xbox Play Anywhere is supported between Windows and Xbox Series consoles. The engine and platform pairing is what enables Cross-Platform Multiplayer between PC and Xbox players in a single co-op session.
What is Not yet Public
Specific Unreal Engine 5 features used (such as Nanite, Lumen, or Chaos destruction), engine version numbers, and detailed performance targets have not been publicly confirmed by Undead Labs. Hardware requirements remain placeholder on the Steam page as of the May 2026 alpha announcement. These details will be filled in as the closed alpha and post-alpha reveals make them concrete.
Status
Information on this page reflects publicly confirmed details as of May 14, 2026. Engine specifics will be expanded as Undead Labs and its partners disclose them.
