State of Decay 3 Comes Alive with Alpha Playtest After Six-Year Hiatus

State of Decay 3 is alive and kicking! The highly anticipated sequel in the zombie survival crafting genre from Undead Labs has just kicked off its first alpha playtest, aiming to gather player feedback after more than six years in development.

Initially unveiled during Xbox’s summer showcase in 2020, State of Decay 3 has proven to be a complex project for the Seattle-based studio. They’re striving to build on the ambitions of its predecessor while enhancing the features that fans loved in the multiplayer sandbox experience. The game made another appearance at Microsoft’s 2024 summer showcase, but there hasn’t been much public information about its progress since then.

In a recent video, Fitzgerald emphasized their commitment to listening to the community: “We’ve been keeping a close eye on what you liked about State of Decay 2 and what you didn’t. We’ve read your feedback on Discord, and we’ve watched your gameplay clips and live streams on YouTube. Through it all, we’ve seen how powerful and tight-knit this community is. It became clear that survival is what you care about, and we need your help. If you’ve made it this far, great!”

Despite the challenges faced by many projects within Microsoft’s portfolio, State of Decay 3 has continued to develop. The launch of an alpha test suggests that the game may be nearing its release, but it could also indicate that Undead Labs is taking lessons from recent live-service missteps, aiming to get the game into players’ hands quickly for necessary adjustments. We’ll keep an eye out for a more significant reveal at the upcoming June gaming showcase.