Long Awaited Xbox Game Will Finally Be Playable For Free Next Month

It looks like Xbox is finally ready to unveil State of Decay 3, a whole six years after being announced.

With seemingly little fanfare, Undead Labs and Xbox surprised us over the weekend with an announcement that State of Decay 3 will be getting an official playtest in May.

The announcement was surprising, considering how few updates on the franchise we’ve had over the years, as well as the fact that Microsoft has already decked out its 2026 roster of game releases.

Still, we’ll take it where we can get it. The first two State of Decay games were well-received when they first launched, and the third game has been cooking for quite some time so fans are eager to know what Undead Labs has been up to.

Xbox Game Studios

State Of Decay 3 Alpha Playtest Is Coming Next Month

“Over the last few years, most of the team has been doing updates for State of Decay 2,” says Undead Labs art director Brant Fitzgerald in a new video released on YouTube. “The rest of us have been creating cool [bleep] for State of Decay 3.

“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. We've watched your gameplay clips and live streams on YouTube.”

Fitzgerald adds: “And through it all we've seen how powerful and tight-knit this community is. And that's all you got to do, guys. It became clear that the community is survival and that we need your help. And if you've made it this far, great.

“Because starting next month, we'll be hosting a series of alpha playtests with the community.”

Fitzgerald promises not to “spoile the surprise for you”, but does mention that the playtests will feature “4-player co-op, some new base building and resource strategies, and a whole lot of combat.”

To register for the playtest, head over to the State of Decay website and sign up for it there. When Undead Labs begins letting people in for the alpha, it’ll get in touch with you if your application was successful.

It’s very likely that Undead Labs will be seeking a mix of PC and Xbox console gamers to take part in the test, so you should be able to have a chance at getting in regardless of which platform you play on.

There’s no solid date confirmed yet for when the playtest will take place, but you can find more updates from the State of Decay team over on the website.

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