It's been a rough week for Xbox following multiple studio closures decided by Microsoft and the severe blowback from fans and fellow developers alike, not to mention reports of Perfect Dark having a rough time, but a new rumor suggests State of Decay 3, at least, might be coming along well.
The third installment in the open-world zombie survival series was originally announced during 2020's Xbox Games Showcase when developer Undead Labs revealed the new entry was early in the pre-production phase. To this day, that pre-rendered concept trailer is all we have of the game, and a report from 2022 suggested there were problems early on due to a lack of vision.
However, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer put his chips on State of Decay 3 when he said it was his most anticipated game and expressed excitement about the advancements the studio would introduce to the franchise.
Now, Windows Central's Jez Corden spoke about the game in the latest Xbox Two Podcast. He heard it's coming along very well. Here's the quote:
I know Jeff Grubb put out there that Perfect Dark isn't doing that well. Well, I'll put out there that I've heard that State of Decay 3 is doing very, very well and looks very, very, very good.
Going back to the advancements hinted at by Spencer, the only hint we have is what current Xbox Studios head Matt Booty said at E3 2018, just after Microsoft had acquired Undead Labs (alongside Playground Games, Compulsion Games, and Ninja Theory). At that time, the executive referred to the original pitch behind Undead Labs: making a zombie MMO codenamed Class 4. The studio ultimately decided to go step-by-step, starting with single player before adding multiplayer with the sequel, but State of Decay 3 is meant to go much larger with persistent online elements. At least, that's what the plan was nearly six years ago; things may have since changed, but it seems doubtful given the ever-increasing emphasis put by publishers on live service games.
We also know that the game is being made with Unreal Engine 5 with the help of The Coalition, the studio behind Gears of War. They are likely helping not just with making the shooting feel better but also with their great technical expertise with Epic's game-making tool.
Nearly four years after the game's announcement, we might be overdue for a new look at the Xbox Games Showcase due to go live in less than a month, though it's worth noting Undead Labs didn't just sit idly all this time - State of Decay 2 has received new content and constant updates (the latest of which went live in late March) and still has a thriving player base.
State of Decay 3 is currently announced only for PC and Xbox Series S|X, though with Microsoft's new policy, nobody can rule out potential ports to other consoles.
