Upcoming Zombie Games

Key Takeaways

• Zombie games need to be unique and high-quality to capture modern audiences’ interest amid over-saturation in the gaming market.
• Expect a wave of upcoming zombie games, from indie to AAA, with diverse settings and genres to keep players excited.
• Keep an eye out for projects like Projekt Z offering fresh takes on the zombie genre.

The zombie genre ruled the entertainment landscape for the better part of the last decade, and though audiences are currently a bit fatigued, it’s a post-apocalyptic setting that comes back in waves. It’s been that way since George A. Romero released Night of the Living Dead back in 1968.

These days, a zombie-focused video game can still capture audiences’ excitement and anticipation, but they need to deliver something that feels refreshing, unique, and/or of unmatched quality. More games, both AAA and indie, are released in the modern era than ever before. That means that there’s likely more than a handful of upcoming zombie games to look forward to at any given time.

Updated November 24, 2024 by Mark Sammut: This month has had its share of zombie releases, although pretty much everything has been overshadowed by S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl. GSC Game World’s open-world survival game went through a long, hard road to reach completion, and the fact that it even came out is a cause for celebration. It also happens to be very good, even by the high standards set by the series. While perhaps not a traditional “zombie” game, Heart of Chornobyl is a must-play for survival horror fans.

Two new upcoming zombie games have been added.

As long as its monsters are similar to zombies, a game will be considered even if it assigns a different name to them.

Dying Light: The Beast

An Open-World First-Person Zombie RPG

Techland’s Dying Light is well-established as one of the best open-world zombie franchises. While not getting glowing reviews, the original project blended action, parkour, and exploration in a sublime way that did not negatively impact its capacity for horror. Even all these years later, Dying Light holds up as an impressive sandbox that manages to be scary and constantly fun. The sequel, Dying Light 2 Stay Human was more of an action RPG with some horror elements than vice versa, which garnered a somewhat mixed reception from die-hard fans of its predecessor. Nevertheless, the positives outweigh the negatives, making it a worthwhile option for anyone craving a zombie romp.

Dying Light: The Beast appears to be a throwback to the 2015 entry’s style and tone, including the return of Kyle Crane as the protagonist. Set in Castor Woods, the standalone adventure starts with Kyle escaping his imprisonment, setting him loose in an environment that has changed a lot over the last decade. More importantly, Kyle has some zombie DNA, which gives him unique abilities.

The “Beast” in the title seems to refer to both Kyle and a monster roaming Castor Woods. At least, that appears to be the case based on the currently available information.

The Beast should have most of the staples associated with the franchise. During the day, players will be able to explore relatively freely (although not without risk); meanwhile, the night brings out the worst horrors found in Castor Woods. The game also supports 4-player co-op, which should be a fun alternative to a solo run.

Into the Dead: Our Darkest Days

Find Shelter, Survive, And Get Out

Into the Dead has been around for a while, with the franchise producing two pretty good first-person mobile games. While not extremely well known beyond its fanbase, the series looks set to make the jump to PC and (hopefully) attract a new audience. Our Darkest Days will also be quite a change in gameplay style, switching to a side-scrolling perspective akin to something like This War of Mine.

In fact, the concept also sounds similar to that game, with Our Darkest Days revolving around a group of survivors who are looking to find and maintain shelter during a zombie apocalypse. With impressive visuals and a seemingly choice-driven gameplay loop, Into the Dead‘s next effort could be something special.

A demo is available on Steam.

Holstin

Cool Visual Style And 2D + 3D Gameplay

Be it party-based shooters or open-world survival projects, zombie games can threaten to blend into one, particularly high-profile releases. Fortunately, Holstin does not have that issue, and only a glance is required to notice the game’s unique presentation.

Pixel graphics are heavily used by the indie scene, so Holstin turning to this art style hardly sets it apart from the crowd; however, the execution is ultimately all that matters. Sonka not only has put together some gorgeous isometric visuals, but the developer has also incorporated 3D support. Yes, players can swap between the two perspectives, changing from an all-encompassing viewpoint that is perfect for puzzles to a behind-the-shoulder camera for third-person shooting gameplay.

The setting is fresh as well, with the story dropping players in a ’90s Polish town that has fallen into dark times (literally and figuratively). Some residents have transformed into full-blown zombie-like monsters, while others seem to be in the process of losing their humanity. Holstin seems to incorporate classic touches from survival horror, be it scavenging, limited ammo, a vulnerable protagonist, and puzzles.

A demo is available on Steam.

John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando

Co-Op Shooter

Revealed in June 2023, John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando introduced itself with a gloriously cheesy ’80s trailer soundtracked by Bon Jovi. Set in a post-apocalyptic world overrun with zombies, Toxic Commando looks set to be a co-op first-person shooter with a class system and a quirky sense of humor. Any horror project that carries John Carpenter’s name comes with higher expectations, but this game at least left a positive first impression.

Saber Interactive has an extensive resume that includes World War Z, another co-op zombie shooter that was received fairly well. Toxic Commando appears to retain that release’s overwhelmingly massive hordes, which is the best part of that game; hopefully, the upcoming title fine-tunes and improves upon World War Z‘s ideas.

Projekt Z: Beyond Order

Co-Op FPS

Hard to imagine that a game simply called Projekt Z will be released too soon, but this World War II zombie shooter has made quite the impression with its trailers. Not only does it provide a captivating atmosphere that infuses a bit of horror into the well-treaded genre setting, but visually the game offers beautiful lighting and textures.

The developers are a fresh new German indie studio called 314 Arts comprised of nine total employees. It’ll offer both single-player and online co-op zombie killing spectacles as players try to uncover Nazi secrets hidden on an occupied island.

Killing Floor 3

Co-Op FPS

Technically, Killing Floor‘s zeds are not zombies, but they essentially play the same role and the games cater to the same crowd. Tripwire’s co-op shooter is finally gearing up for its comeback, and while not much has been revealed about Killing Floor 3, the franchise is generally quite reliable. Killing Floor 2 has enjoyed a very long shelf life, and it is still fairly active considering it has been around since 2016; still, the title is starting to show its age, and plenty of similar games have entered the market over the last few years.

Set in 2091, the upcoming sequel will be taking on an almost cyberpunk theme by presenting a megacorporation as the core evil. Unsurprisingly, this organization has decided to weaponize zeds, forcing a resistance group to rise and rebel. Outside this basic plot summary, Tripwire has kept most other details under wrap, although the developer has confirmed that Killing Floor 3 will support 6-player co-op.

State Of Decay 3

Sandbox Survival

Undead Labs feels like a game developer destined to deliver a truly remarkable zombie experience in the world of video games. Their first entry in the genre was a lower-budget arcade-style zombie survival game that won the hearts of players despite its many bugs and issues. Its sequel, State of Decay 2, took the series forward.

In 2020, State of Decay 3 was revealed, and interviews with the studio suggest they’re working on making this the zombie survival game they’ve felt they were capable of delivering. Now owned by Microsoft and overseen by Xbox Game Studios, it seems that the third installment in the State of Decay series could be the one that puts Undead Labs on the map in a major way.

After spending a few years out of the limelight, State of Decay 3 made its big return during 2024’s Xbox Games Showcase, dropping a new trailer that hopefully suggests a release might not be that far away.