State of Decay 3 Release Date Speculation, News, Gameplay Delays & Xbox Updates

Since Undead Labs teased its sequel of the adored zombie-fighting franchise, State of Decay, fans have patiently waited for any notion of progress. The game was first unveiled with a cinematic trailer at the Xbox Games Showcase in 2020. Fast forward to today and State of Decay 3 has been in silent waters with nothing to show for it for the past few years. 

Its slow progression has supposedly been the cause of many things, from the devastating effects of the pandemic to allegations of burnout and mismanagement within the company and other factors hindering State of Decay 3’s development.

But among these suppositions, there’s been no actual telltale sign that the game could be coming any time soon. Despite this, we’ve pieced together everything to know about the game’s arrival, whether or not it’ll come in 2023.

Updated on 7 March 2024: This article was updated and checked for the latest 'State of Decay 3' news and leaks.

Latest State of Decay 3 News & Leaks

Everything We Know Of State of Decay 3's Release So Far

Only whispers, murmurs, and vague statements among development and publisher executives, investigations, and reports can help point fans’ expectations toward a much clearer answer. Beyond that, Undead Labs and Microsoft have left no crumbs for the community to follow. 

The first noteworthy hint toward the game’s release and content was State of Decay 3’s cinematic trailer. This near-two-minute YouTube video isn’t the most revealing, but it details supposedly most of the gameplay’s focus being zombified animals running rampant across the game’s open world.

Past this, it’s still a dog-eat-dog world, only this time around, winter has caught up, and survival has become even more perilous, knowing death comes in many forms, including undead deers. 

Take a look at the official cinematic trailer above.

Gears of War Developers Are Helping Develop State of Decay 3

A report by WCCFtech revealed a little more information about State of Decay 3 but nothing too majorly important about the game’s content or release dates.

Speaking on Xbox’s Major Nelson podcast, Xbox Game Studios Head Matt Booty dived into the game’s progression, stating that it’s supposedly being made with Unreal Engine 5 with assistance from other Gears of War developers at The Coalition.

Booty stated, “You mentioned Undead Labs; they’re working with The Coalition up in Vancouver, our Gears of War studio, using some of the technology around Unreal Engine 5 and some of the stuff that’s been in Gears of War before to bring that into State of Decay 3.” 

Booty added, “all of that, the things they are doing there, are really the testbed, the proving grounds, for all the stuff that’s going in State of Decay 3.” In addition, Booty also assured State of Decay 2 fans that there’s still been ongoing development for the franchise’s sequel; they’re supposedly fine-tuning the game. 

But some question whether State of Decay 3’s progression is slow because of fine-tuning or maybe other heavier, underlying issues within the company behind developing the game.

Allegations Of Mistreatment Within Undead Labs Have Supposedly Caused Delays

An in-depth investigative report by Kotaku highlighted the allegations of mistreatment, mismanagement, and burnout of Undead Labs employees because of indecent and improper leadership and more issues.

The report stated that Microsoft supposedly forced the development team to announce State of Decay 3, despite being in pre-production, having no collective agreement and plan to unveil the game. 

“Undead Labs hadn’t planned to announce State of Decay 3 in 2020, let alone show it, but Microsoft requested trailers from many of its studios in the lead up to the Xbox Series X/S launch, three sources familiar with the decision said,” stated Kotaku Senior Reporter, Ethan Gach.

Noting this, the report stated many things, with the aforementioned trailer release being the tip of the iceberg. It’s highly worth reading Ethan Gach’s report on the allegations of mistreatment and mismanagement within Undead Labs.

However, from what it seems, State of Decay 3 might not be near release any time soon. Fans might be waiting a few more years for the game’s release, with 2023 possibly bringing another cinematic trailer during the Xbox Games Showcase. Until then, we’ll endeavor to update you once it happens.