State of Decay 3, the ambitious open-world zombie survival game, is a follow-up to fan-favorite State of Decay 2 and represents a huge leap forward for the series and the studio.

In State of Decay 3, the game's world is now years into the apocalypse, with an evolving zombie threat taking over the landscape. You must fight back and reclaim lost ground, carving out a life for your community of survivalist homesteaders. Fans of the series might pick up on nods to some franchise staples in the new trailer: brutal combat; cooperatively battling back threats to the survivor group; permadeath; opening a car door on a zombie while speeding down the road. But the more you watch it, the more you can see hints at how State of Decay 3 will be the most ambitious game Undead Labs has ever envisioned.

State of Decay is not your typical zombie or survival series – it's driven by hope, not despair. Yes, there are zombies you must contend with, but there are strong themes that permeate throughout, tackling subjects like perseverance, community, and skillfully navigating challenges which helps the series stand out from the horde.

Undead Labs announced that it has completed its separation from XBOX and is now operating as an independent, employee-owned game development studio.

Development of State of Decay 3 remains actively underway at Undead Labs. The game is currently in alpha, with the team continuing toward the previously announced milestone of entering a closed beta before the end of the year. State of Decay 3 remains targeted for release in 2027 on XBOX, Game Pass, PC, and PlayStation.

 “Independence brings us closer to our community and lets us focus on what matters most: making the best games we can and earning the continued support of the people who choose to spend their time with us,” said Philip Holt, Studio Head of Undead Labs. “State of Decay exists because millions of players have made that choice over the years, and we’re dedicated to honoring their trust.”

 The transition marks a new chapter in a relationship between Undead Labs and Microsoft that spans more than 15 years. The original State of Decay launched in partnership with Microsoft in 2013, and Microsoft acquired Undead Labs in 2018.

“We’re enormously grateful for our years as part of XBOX and for everything that relationship has made possible,” Holt said. “Microsoft has been part of the State of Decay story from the very beginning, and we’re proud of everything we’ve accomplished together.”

Additional details about Undead Labs’ future plans will be shared at a later date. Players can stay up to date through StateofDecay.com or following us on social media, and can sign up to participate in future State of Decay 3 playtesting at playtest.stateofdecay.com

Unfortunately, today we are also saying goodbye to a significant number of our colleagues. It's difficult to reach this moment knowing that not everyone who helped get us here gets to make the rest of the journey with us.

They are exceptionally talented developers who have poured years into the State of Decay franchise: solving hard problems, looking after one another, and helping shape both this game and this studio. Their work remains part of Undead Labs and part of State of Decay 3, regardless of where their careers take them next.

There have been far too many announcements like this across the industry, and we hate adding to that list. These are people we'd hire again in a heartbeat, and we hope the industry takes notice.

To everyone leaving: thank you. We're proud of what we built together and grateful for everything you gave this studio, this game, and this community.

If you're hiring and want to talk to the people leaving Undead Labs, reach out tocontact@undeadlabs.com.

State of Decay 3 stays true to the franchise staples: working together to battle back a threat to your growing community of survivors, permadeath and remembering those who have fallen, and, naturally, opening a car door to hit a zombie while speeding down the road

Something that has always worked well for State of Decay is its open world, effectively allowing you to create any narrative for your party that you'd like to come up with. But, building on the originals, State of Decay 3 will feature a much larger, truly shared open world, allowing Undead Labs to bring emotional weight into that aspect of the game, with more context in how they want to be telling stories.

Part of that emotion will come through in the game's iconic permadeath feature, which is teased at the end of the trailer, as the camera focuses on a wall of remembrance that continues to grow and grow. It gives us an indicator that this group of survivors has seen significant loss over the years (and will continue to). It's a series staple and one the team is looking to make more impactful than ever before for the new game.

The feeling of ever-present danger really starts to come through in the trailer when the group comes together, rallying around a survivor who has radioed for help. As zombies begin to swarm around them, an enemy with exposed, molten lungs known as a Screamer appears and is blown apart by a survivor – before he himself is consumed by the massive horde of undead. When hope seems nearly lost, a heavily modified car we're introduced to earlier in the trailer comes barreling through to save the day, albeit temporarily.

Speaking of ingredients, you can also expect to see survivors that have become quite adept at… well… not getting eaten, by surviving several years into the apocalypse. This, in turn, has evolved into a resourceful era where clothing, supplies, and weapons have been modified to accommodate their needs — expect weapons to have mismatched barrels with heavily modified magazines, or clothing reinforced with armor plates. They've "leveled up" in this maker culture to be more eclectic because the world of State of Decay 3 has been "picked over" by now, and finding components to modify their existing weapons will be much more likely than looting a wholly formed one that's ready to go.

This also means that players will be able to customize their play experience to a greater depth than they have in the past. Undead Labs believes that investing time to craft "your" crossbow vs finding a few generic crossbow types is going to be a lot more fun and will help reinforce State of Decay 3's unique setting.

State of Decay 3 is coming to Xbox Series X|S, PC and PS5 in 2027.