State of Decay 3 Resurfaces, Nearly Four Years After Its Initial Announcement - Xbox Games Showcase 2024

The latest trailer for State of Decay 3 showcases several new features coming to the game. Some of the highlights include:

1. Brutal Zombie Hacking and Slashing: The trailer shows off intense and visceral combat against zombies, with players using a variety of weapons to take down their undead foes.

2. Emotional Monologue: The gameplay footage is accompanied by an emotional monologue, adding depth to the storytelling and atmosphere of the game.

3. Shared World Feature: Undead Labs has teamed up with Obsidian to create a "shared world feature" for State of Decay 3, which aims to provide a more flexible online cooperative experience for players.

4. Larger Open World: The game will take place in a much larger open world compared to its predecessors, giving players more areas to explore and survive in.

5. Customization and Crafting: Players will have more customization and crafting options for their weapons, clothes, and other items, allowing for greater personalization and strategy in their gameplay.

6. Advanced Decay and Enemy Design: The game will feature more advanced decay in its environments and enemies, with zombies appearing more decayed and dangerous than ever before.

7. Enhanced Combat Systems: Undead Labs is focusing on improving the combat systems, enemy behaviors, and animation fidelity to create a more engaging moment-to-moment gameplay experience.

8. Unreal Engine 5 Powered Graphics: State of Decay 3 will be powered by Unreal Engine 5, providing a significant graphical upgrade over its predecessor and allowing for more immersive and realistic environments5.

9. Co-op Combat Emphasis: The game will heavily emphasize engaging co-op combat, with level design and world-building focused on ensuring players can have a blast smashing and shooting zombies together out in the open world.

10. Collaboration with Other Developers: Undead Labs has collaborated with Obsidian Entertainment, The Coalition, Blind Squirrel Entertainment, and Wushu Studios to bring State of Decay 3 to life, leveraging their expertise in various aspects of game development.

The development of State of Decay 3 has been described as troubled, according to the 2022 Kotaku report, due to several factors. One of the main issues cited was mismanagement. Additionally, the game was announced too early, as it had been in development since 2018 but with no substantial updates provided to the public in the years following the announcement. These factors contributed to concerns about the project's progress and its potential release date.