There is something delightfully ironic about zombie games being “live” service. While there has been very little information about State of Decay 3 since it was announced in 2020, new information suggests that the sequel may be released as a live-service game similar to other zombie survival shooters.
Undead Labs, the studio behind the State of Decay series, recently posted a job listing for a Senior Product Owner. The developer is looking for a candidate with experience in live services suggesting that the next installment may be much different than previous titles. The preferred qualification reads, “Experience with online multiplayer, game live services and operations.”
Both State of Decay titles featured open-world third-person gameplay with a huge emphasis on crafting and stealth. Unlike titles like DayZ and Days Gone, avoiding zombies – instead of mowing down hordes – is at the core of State of Decay’s experience. Players have to manage resources and personnel within their camps to survive.
State of Decay 2 added to the experience and introduced cooperative gameplay with up to three players, admittedly an odd number for such features as opposed to the usual four. Gamers can recruit friends to join their lobbies to assist in completing objectives.
The new job listing suggests that Undead Labs is moving to the live service model where the game will be supported for years. The live service model should keep things fresh as content is continuously added, making the game bigger and much more complex after launch.
If the game does feature online multiplayer, we may also be looking at some sort of extraction shooter model similar to Escape from Tarkov or even The Day Before, being all the craze right now. Bungie is coming out with Marathon while Ubisoft has The Division Heartland. Activision currently has the DMZ mode within Call of Duty: Warzone and Zombies in Modern Warfare 3.
State of Decay was originally envisioned as a Multiplayer online survival but Undead Labs had to settle for a coop gameplay for its previous title. The listing hints that the studio may be working towards its original vision for the game.
State of Decay 3 will be powered by Unreal Engine 5 and is being developed in collaboration with The Coalition, best known for the Gears of War series. The game currently doesn’t have a release date but recent rumors suggest that the game may arrive in 2027.
If the rumors are true then the third installment would be released nine years after the previous title and seven years after its announcement. With the long development cycles over at Xbox Game Studios, we wouldn’t be surprised if the game does arrive closer to 2027.
