When Microsoft revealedState of Decay 3back in 2020 as a follow-up to the popular series of survival horror games, fans of the franchise were excited to see what the future would hold forState of Decay. Undead Labs would later confirm that thenewestState of Decaywas in pre-production, with a release still far off into the future. Now, a prominent member of the development team forSaints Row 5is set to join Undead Labs and theState of Decayteam.
State of Decay 3was first announced in July 2020 during an Xbox Games Showcase focusing on upcoming titles for the Xbox Series X. The cinematic reveal trailer showed off zombie deer and hinted at a return to the game’s core survival mechanics, which could be good news for fans since the last game,State of Decay 2, was criticized for a lack of depth in its gameplay. Not much has been revealed about the in-development third game in the franchise, but a recent announcement revealedSaints Row 5Technical Art Director Mitri Van would be joining Undead Labs to work onState of Decay 3.
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Microsoft insider Klobrille recently announced via Twitter that Van would officially be joining Undead Labs as a Principal Technical Artist. Van had previously been with Deep Silver Volition for over twenty years, working ontheSaints RowfranchisesinceSaints Row 2, as well as Volition’sThe Punisherbased on the comic book and 2004 film of the same name. Van also worked as Technical Art Director for Deep Silver Volition on nearly every project he was involved with for the twenty-plus years he spent with the company.
Klobrille goes on to mention the significant growth within Undead Labs since the release ofState of Decay 2, with the Xbox Game Studios subsidiary boasting over 100 members to date. The developer recently saw the departure of one of its inaugural members, as founder Jeff Strain left the company last month to found a’distributed game studio' named Possibility Space. Strain has been active on the front of pushing for employee rights amongst the game industry, previously publishing a letter calling for developers to unionize.
Despite the announcement of a thirdState of Decaybeing in development, Undead Labs has continued to support the second game with a steady stream of new content. September saw the release of thehighly-anticipatedHomecomingexpansionforState of Decay 2, allowing players to once again explore the original game’s Trumbull Valley map within the sequel. With Undead Labs still keeping much of the juicy details forState of Decay 3under wraps, fans will have to wait and see what the franchise’s next entry will bring to the table.
State of Decay 3is currently in development for the PC and Xbox Series X/S.
