State of Decay 3 Features a “Much Larger, Truly Shared Open World,” Says Undead Labs

After a long period in development limbo, Undead Labs’ State of Decay 3 received a new trailer at the recent Xbox Games Showcase. Though it’s in-engine, the many themes making up the sequel are made apparent. What may not be readily so is that it offers a “much larger” and “truly shared open world.”

Studio director and head of product Philip Holt told Xbox Wire, “The first thing that I hope people pick up [from the trailer] is that there are four player characters we’re highlighting – three of them start in different places in the world – so we’re implying this idea of a shared world experience, not just a ride-along, and that the boundaries in which you can go off independently are going to be much, much greater than they were in State of Decay 2.”

Interestingly, it’s collaborated with Obsidian Entertainment for the shared world. It makes sense since the latter’s survival sandbox title, Grounded, uses the same shared save tech developed by Undead Labs. Holt also noted that despite the trailer being in-engine, all assets are in-game and rendered from the same. There’s also the promise of players encountering such events when playing co-op.

“We wanted to give you a representative feel of what the game would be like but also tell a story.”

State of Decay 3 doesn’t have a release date, but it’s coming to Xbox Series X/S and PC. It also launches on day one for Game Pass. Stay tuned for more details in the meantime.