Xbox’s State of Decay 3 finally gets a beautiful new trailer after 4 long years, but still no release date

Finally, four years after its initial reveal, Xbox’s State of Decay 3 has a new trailer.

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What you need to know

There’s plenty of zombie games on the market these days, but few are as conceptually interesting as State of Decay, Undead Labs' Xbox console exclusive series that blends action, stealth, survival, and management mechanics into one unique post-apocalyptic package. It’s been a long time sinceState of Decay 3was first announced back in 2020, but now, four years later, we’ve finally gotten another look at it thanks to a new trailer shown atXbox Games Showcase 2024.

Thetrailer— which you can watch via the embed below — shows off State of Decay 3’s world and what seems to be some of its shooting gameplay (it’s HUDless and unclear if it’s just cinematic). When it launches, the game will be playable on Xbox Series X|S consoles and Windows PC via the Microsoft Store and Steam, with day one availability onXbox and PC Game Passas well asXbox Cloud Gamingif you have the Ultimate tier of the service.

One thing wedidn’tget from the trailer was any official release window or date, which will likely disappoint some. We’ve previously predicted a 2025 release — late 2024 at the absolute earliest — though ultimately, there’s no way to know for sure until Microsoft and Undead Labs share more.

Based on what we saw in this new trailer, it’s clear that State of Decay 3 will play out much like the first two games, with great emphasis placed on keeping a fledgling band of survivors alive by finding effective ways to combat undead hordes. One aspect of the franchise many are hoping will improve with the sequel, though, is the dynamism and depth of your community members. NPCs in previous State of Decay titles have been very static, so survivors that develop bonds over time and change based on the events of your playthrough would be a great way for this third installment to spice things up.

It’s also worth noting that the original teaser for State of Decay 3 showed a plague-infected deer feasting on the remains of a wolf, suggesting that it will feature zombified wildlife. The undead in State of Decay andState of Decay 2were exclusively human; experienced players may need to be ready to deal with that twist.

At long last, State of Decay 3 surfaces

Xbox fans have been waiting alongtime to learn more about State of Decay 3 and when they’ll be able to play it, so it’s great that developer Undead Labs has finally surfaced with another trailer to share. What’s been shown so far looks very compelling, though after seeing the very rough state State of Decay 2 was in for a long time, I’m choosing to be cautious with my optimism.

Speaking of State of Decay 2, it’s actually gotten quite a lot of post-launch love since its 2018 release, including theCurveball content updatelast September and theHeart Attack updatefrom last May.Undead Labs partnered with Wushu Studios for additional supportwhile working on these, likely so that they wouldn’t negatively impact the development of State of Decay 3.

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Brendan Lowry is a Windows Central writer and Oakland University graduate with a burning passion for video games, of which he’s been an avid fan since childhood. He’s been writing for Team WC since the summer of 2017, and you’ll find him doing news, editorials, reviews, and general coverage on everything gaming, Xbox, and Windows PC. His favorite game of all time is probably NieR: Automata, though Elden Ring, Fallout: New Vegas, and Team Fortress 2 are in the running, too. When he’s not writing or gaming, there’s a good chance he’s either watching an interesting new movie or TV show or actually going outside for once.Follow him on X(Twitter).