{"id":2112610,"date":"2026-08-26T12:45:30","date_gmt":"2026-08-26T09:45:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2112610"},"modified":"2026-08-26T12:45:30","modified_gmt":"2026-08-26T09:45:30","slug":"state-of-decay-3-lives-on-after-studios-separation-from-xbox-with-a-closed-beta-promised-for-this-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2112610","title":{"rendered":"State of Decay 3 lives on after studio&#8217;s separation from Xbox, with a closed beta promised for this year"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"article \" data-ads=\"true\" data-article-type=\"news\" data-article-group=\"news\" data-paywalled=\"false\" data-premium=\"false\" data-sponsored=\"false\" data-type=\"article\">\n<header class=\"article_header\" data-component=\"article-header\">\n<div class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n<nav class=\"nav_breadcrumbs\" data-component=\"nav-breadcrumbs\" aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\">\n<ul class=\"nav-links\">\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      Home<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/news\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      News<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/state-of-decay-3\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      State of Decay 3<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/nav><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_details\" id=\"main-content\">\n<h1 class=\"title\">State of Decay 3 lives on after studio&#8217;s separation from Xbox, with a closed beta promised for this year<\/h1>\n<p class=\"strapline\">Shambles.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_asset\">\n<figure class=\"headline_image_wrapper\">\n<p>        <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"headline_image\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/Image-from-State-of-Decay-3-showing-a-male-character-with-a-crossbow-and-a-backpack.jpg?width=570&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;dpr=3&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"Image from State of Decay 3 showing a male character with a crossbow and a backpack\" loading=\"eager\" data-uri=\"Image-from-State-of-Decay-3-showing-a-male-character-with-a-crossbow-and-a-backpack.jpg\" data-lightbox width=\"570\" height=\"324\"><figcaption>\n          <span class=\"attribution\">Image credit: <cite>Undead Labs<\/cite><\/span><br \/>\n        <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"metadata\">\n<div class=\"avatar\">\n<p>    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Kaan Serin avatar\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/1633424287.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"180\" height=\"216\"><\/p>\n<p>  <img alt=\"Kaan Serin avatar\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"1633424287.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"180\" height=\"216\">\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text\">\n<div class=\"byline\">\n                  <span class=\"article_type\" data-slug=\"news\"><br \/>\n                    News<br \/>\n                  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"by\">by<\/span> <span class=\"author\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/authors\/kaan-serin\">Kaan Serin<\/a><\/span>                    <span class=\"job_title\"><br \/>\n                      Contributor<br \/>\n                    <\/span>\n            <\/div>\n<div class=\"published_at\">\n<p>Published on   <time datetime=\"2026-08-26T12:45:30+00:00\" data-auto-time-zone=\"true\" data-year=\"numeric\" data-month=\"short\" data-day=\"numeric\" data-hour=\"numeric\" data-minute=\"numeric\">Aug. 26, 2026, 12:45 p.m.<\/time>\n              <\/div>\n<div class=\"comments\">\n      <a class=\"comments__link comments-bubble\" href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/state-of-decay-3-lives-on-after-studios-separation-from-xbox-with-a-closed-beta-promised-for-this-year?view=comments\" rel=\"nofollow\"><br \/>\n          2 comments<br \/>\n      <\/a>\n    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"mypop-header-wrapper\">\n<p><button class=\"mypop-button button wide\" data-state=\"follow\" data-type=\"tag\" data-uuid=\"20039ba6-ace9-4a98-8b00-69869ab6515b\" data-name=\"State of Decay 3\" data-follow-text=\"Follow State of Decay 3\" data-unfollow-text=\"Following State of Decay 3\" data-aria-follow-text=\"Follow State of Decay 3\" data-aria-unfollow-text=\"Following State of Decay 3\" data-popup=\"true\" data-force-login=\"true\" aria-label=\"Follow State of Decay 3\" title=\"Follow State of Decay 3\"><br \/>\n  Follow State of Decay 3<br \/>\n<\/button>          <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p>Undead Labs has announced that a closed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/state-of-decay-3\">State of Decay 3<\/a> beta is coming sometime in 2026, weeks after the studio separated from Xbox.<\/p>\n<p>The zombie infested threequel has been available to a limited number of people via a series of closed alpha playtests that began this April, but the doors to the apocalypse are swinging ever so slightly open with closed beta playtests set to begin before the year ends, the studio revealed in a new <a href=\"https:\/\/news.xbox.com\/en-us\/2026\/08\/26\/state-of-decay-3-closed-beta-playtests\/\">Xbox Wire<\/a> blog post.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We&#8217;re going to be expanding our alpha and then closed beta to more players over time, this is our largest map ever and with untethered multiplayer, we really need to take the opportunities to stress-test and fine-tune,&#8221; wrote Undead Labs&#8217; creative director Kevin Patzelt. &#8220;If you don&#8217;t get access right away, rest assured there will be more opportunities throughout the year for players familiar and brand new to the series.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The studio says State of Decay 3&#8217;s first wave of testing gave the team a lot of useful insight that it&#8217;s now feeding back into the production process, particularly around how combat is balanced in co-op sessions and how the series&#8217; signature permadeath feature does (or doesn&#8217;t) affect your entire enclave of survivors.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Alpha playtesters supposedly had praise for the game&#8217;s much improved lighting and graphics, clothes and character customisation, and its updated freak zombies &#8211; the ones that are so mutated that they stomp around like hulk or explode in a cloud of toxic gas, for example.<\/p>\n<p>Should you want to spill your own guts to the team, you can register interest for the upcoming <a href=\"https:\/\/playtest.stateofdecay.com\/\">State of Decay 3 beta<\/a> before the game launches sometime in 2027 on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X\/S.<\/p>\n<p>Notably, today&#8217;s news is Undead Labs&#8217; first big announcement since the studio parted ways with former owner Xbox. Last month, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/microsoft-xbox-layoffs-2026-double-fine-compulsion-ninja-theory\">Microsoft started a sweeping round of layoffs<\/a> across its gaming division, which saw the tech giant cut 1,600 jobs and split from four first-party developers, including Undead Labs. At the time, Xbox said it had found a new buyer for the studio, though whoever that mystery owner is hasn&#8217;t yet been announced. It&#8217;s also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/state-of-decay-3-game-pass-launch-in-question\">unclear if State of Decay 3 will still launch into Game Pass<\/a> on day one.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"preferred-source\" data-component=\"preferred-source\">\nLove Eurogamer.net? Make us a <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\">Preferred Source on Google<\/a> and catch more of our coverage in your feeds.  <\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p>Undead Labs has announced that a closed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/state-of-decay-3\">State of Decay 3<\/a> beta is coming sometime in 2026, weeks after the studio separated from Xbox.<\/p>\n<p>The zombie infested threequel has been available to a limited number of people via a series of closed alpha playtests that began this April, but the doors to the apocalypse are swinging ever so slightly open with closed beta playtests set to begin before the year ends, the studio revealed in a new <a href=\"https:\/\/news.xbox.com\/en-us\/2026\/08\/26\/state-of-decay-3-closed-beta-playtests\/\">Xbox Wire<\/a> blog post.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We&#8217;re going to be expanding our alpha and then closed beta to more players over time, this is our largest map ever and with untethered multiplayer, we really need to take the opportunities to stress-test and fine-tune,&#8221; wrote Undead Labs&#8217; creative director Kevin Patzelt. &#8220;If you don&#8217;t get access right away, rest assured there will be more opportunities throughout the year for players familiar and brand new to the series.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The studio says State of Decay 3&#8217;s first wave of testing gave the team a lot of useful insight that it&#8217;s now feeding back into the production process, particularly around how combat is balanced in co-op sessions and how the series&#8217; signature permadeath feature does (or doesn&#8217;t) affect your entire enclave of survivors.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Alpha playtesters supposedly had praise for the game&#8217;s much improved lighting and graphics, clothes and character customisation, and its updated freak zombies &#8211; the ones that are so mutated that they stomp around like hulk or explode in a cloud of toxic gas, for example.<\/p>\n<p>Should you want to spill your own guts to the team, you can register interest for the upcoming <a href=\"https:\/\/playtest.stateofdecay.com\/\">State of Decay 3 beta<\/a> before the game launches sometime in 2027 on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X\/S.<\/p>\n<p>Notably, today&#8217;s news is Undead Labs&#8217; first big announcement since the studio parted ways with former owner Xbox. Last month, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/microsoft-xbox-layoffs-2026-double-fine-compulsion-ninja-theory\">Microsoft started a sweeping round of layoffs<\/a> across its gaming division, which saw the tech giant cut 1,600 jobs and split from four first-party developers, including Undead Labs. At the time, Xbox said it had found a new buyer for the studio, though whoever that mystery owner is hasn&#8217;t yet been announced. It&#8217;s also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/state-of-decay-3-game-pass-launch-in-question\">unclear if State of Decay 3 will still launch into Game Pass<\/a> on day one.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Home News State of Decay 3 State of Decay 3 lives on after studio&#8217;s separation from Xbox, with a closed beta promised for this year Shambles. Image credit: Undead Labs News by Kaan Serin Contributor Published on Aug. 26, 2026, 12:45 p.m. 2 comments Follow State of Decay 3 Undead Labs has announced that a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,253],"class_list":["post-2112610","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-eurogamer-net"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2112610","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2112610"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2112610\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2112610"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2112610"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2112610"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}