Summary
- State of Decay 3 may launch in early 2026, delayed from the original target of 2025.
- Development of the game has faced challenges since its 2020 announcement, including switching to Unreal Engine.
- Three Xbox studios, including Undead Labs, are reportedly collaborating to enhance the game’s combat and animations.
State of Decay 3 could be released early in 2026, according to a well-known journalist. State of Decay 3 is currently one of the most eagerly awaited first-party Xbox titles, but it has been in development for a while, and fans have not been receiving much official information about it.
State of Decay 3 is set to be the third entry in the franchise, which started in 2013. Originally, State of Decay 3 was announced in 2020, but it seems that its development has had many challenges since then, and the game suffered from delays and changes, including switching to Unreal Engine. Last year, State of Decay 3 finally received a new trailer after four years of complete silence, giving fans high expectations that the game could be out soon. However, it still does not have an official release window.
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Now, Windows Central reporter Jez Corden has hinted during the Xbox Two podcast that he believes State of Decay 3 will be out in 2026. According to the journalist, Microsoft was originally considering State of Decay 3’s release for 2025, but the title has been delayed once more. Because of this, he believes that the game will be released early in 2026. Overall, it’s a theory that makes sense, especially considering that it would not make sense to unveil the State of Decay 3’s trailer during the 2024 Xbox Showcase unless there were plans to launch the title soon.
State of Decay 3 Could be Out in Early 2026
While none of this is official information, Corden is generally reliable, and has been insisting on this possible release date for a while. Last year, Corden had already talked about the release date for State of Decay 3. At the time, he claimed that State of Decay 3 would be delayed, being pushed to 2026 instead of Microsoft’s initial goal of releasing in 2025.
At the moment, State of Decay 3 is being developed by three Xbox studios. Aside from main developer Undead Labs, reports from 2024 indicate that both The Coalition and Obsidian Entertainment have been helping out with the open-world zombie game. According to these reports, the two additional studios were helping out to deepen the combat system, design enemy behaviors and improve animation. It’s not known how many workers in these companies actually helped, though. Obsidian has recently released Avowed and is working on The Outer Worlds 2, while The Coalition is busy with Gears of War: E-Day. In any case, time will tell whether Undead Labs will be able to release State of Decay 3 early in 2026 or not.
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Xbox Game Studios