State of Decay 3 Boss Explains Why Development Has Taken So Long

The head of Undead Labs has shed more light on why the development of State of Decay 3 has taken so long. All the way back in 2020, the latest entry in the State of Decay series was unveiled with an initial teaser. In the time since that announcement, though, very little has been said about the project, which has further amplified questions about what has been going on behind the scenes at Undead Labs. Now, based on new info that has emerged, it has been made clear why the silence surrounding State of Decay 3 has lingered for so long.

Speaking to Sunny Games, Undead Labs head Philip Holt opened up about this initial reveal of State of Decay 3. Holt explained that at the time of the game’s announcement in 2020, essentially no work had actually been done on the sequel yet. The trailer was instead simply conceptual and looked to show off the mere concept of what Undead Labs was looking to do in State of Decay 3. Only after this teaser was released did the studio then start actively working on the game, which explains why we haven’t seen much of it over the years.

“So that trailer – there really wasn’t a game or game team when we were working on that trailer, like, it was so early,” Holt said. “You know, the game was in a Word document. It was really the very beginnings of software. […] The trailer was done by Blur, it was all pre-rendered, it represented, I think, a concept – our thoughts at the time of what might be cool to explore in State of Decay 3.”

State of Decay 3 Won’t Feature One Previously Teased Element

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The downside of this trailer merely being a conceptual one is that some of what was seen in it won’t actually end up in State of Decay 3. Specifically, Holt confirmed that the zombie animals seen in the teaser aren’t in the final game. He didn’t explain why the studio opted not to include this in the title, but if you were looking forward to fighting off zombie deer in State of Decay 3, there will be none to be found.

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In the near term, Undead Labs is preparing to finally put State of Decay 3 in the hands of players through an alpha test that will be transpiring in May. To learn more about this alpha and how to sign up for it yourself, you can find those details right here.

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