State of Decay 3 release date estimate and latest news

What is the State of Decay 3 release date estimate? Undead Labs officially announced the next State of Decay at the Xbox Showcase 2024, though we've known of its existence for a while, the reveal trailer gives us a bit more to go on.

For those new to State of Decay 3, this survival zombie game mashup is an apocalyptic open world where you'll need to survive zombie hordes, all while building a secure base, keeping your people happy, and setting out on trips to hunt for resources to survive. It's a challenging third-person adventure with city-building elements and some fun management systems.

We estimate that State of Decay 3 will release in 2026, based on the cinematic reveal trailer we received at the Xbox Showcase and how State of Decay 2 was released two years after the reveal at E3 2016.

Additionally, Windows Central's Jez Corden has reiterated on separate occasions over the past months that the game is targeting a 2026 launch, slipping back from the 2025 window Microsoft was ostensibly hoping for. As such, there's every chance we could see the game resurface at 2025's big Xbox Showcase.

Though the first in the series is a beloved survival game, State of Decay 2 released with a myriad of issues, including many, many bugs, and while they were eventually ironed out, fans of the games felt the second offering lacked the story beats and character interactions that made the initial game so good. It also experienced its fair share of online co-op issues, as it didn't have cross-progression and gave friends joining your game little to no incentive to help you out or experience the world together.

That being said, State of Decay 2 did end up in pretty good shape, and hopefully, it laid down a more concrete path for State of Decay 3 to follow. It does seem like the new trailer addresses what was missing from the original story: the camaraderie and in-depth characters we can get behind. We're also hoping that the Breakdown mode is present, whether as an extra mode, a DLC, or baked into the campaign in some way.

State of Decay 3 trailers

The initial announcement trailer was no more than a CG trailer, but it gave us a taste of a very cold world filled with hordes of zombified wildlife. The trailer kicks off with a woman sitting beside a campfire, sharpening an improvised crossbow bolt. A wolf approaches, she lets out a guttural scream, and it retreats from sight. Later, during the day, she's hunting on a snowy hillside and sees the wolf being eaten by a deer. Looking through her crossbow scope, she sees the deer raise its head, and we see that half of its face has rotted off.

The latest trailer hits a bit harder, introducing us to a few characters living among the pine trees, trying to survive the best they can by killing zombies and scavenging weapons, dashing to each other's aid in a desperate bid to keep everyone alive. It does capture the essence of State of Decay, especially how quickly people can be lost to the violent zombie hordes that amplify as the game ramps up. We also get a glimpse of the Screamer, and right at the end, a Juggernaut lumbering towards the group who are attempting an escape.

Now that you're caught up on what to expect from the State of Decay 3 release date, here's a list of all the exciting upcoming games on the horizon, and the best building games and apocalypse games to play in the meantime.