State of Decay 3 finally resurfaces, confirms day one Game Pass launch

The latest iteration in the popular zombie series State of Decay has been shown off at the Xbox Games Showcase 2024, and looks to be the first game in the series to be developed using Unreal Engine 5.

The trailer is almost entirely cinematic, though a few brief snippets of gameplay are shown that seem to indicate that the gunplay used in the title has evolved in the series since the last time we saw it, and there’s also new zombie types shown off in the trailer, along with more traditional zombies we’ve come to expect from the series. The trailer ends with the tease of a new massive creature that will likely provide survivors with a heavy amount of challenge, and will cause even the most hardy of survivors to need to use careful planning to get around.

Take a look at State of Decay 3 in action below.

It's been six years since Undead Labs' last game released in the form of State of Decay 2. The studio has supported that game since launch with frequent updates, but fans have waited with bated breath for more details on the newest game in the franchise since it was first revealed at the original Xbox Showcase almost four years ago now. As might have been noticed by fans in the reveal, there’s no inkling of a release date for the game, so it could still be quite a while away, but it is coming to Xbox Game Pass day one, so subscribers have that to look for to.

The title is being developed in Unreal Engine 5, per a podcast that Xbox Game Studio head Matt Booty featured on, so it’s likely to be a title that pushes the boundaries of what to expect in a console game, and one that remains beautiful for years to come.