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'State of Decay 3' is coming to Xbox Series X and PC
A new State of Decay game is coming from Undead Labs.
'State of Decay 2' brings zombie slaying to Steam in early 2020
You don't have to be fully committed to Microsoft's vision of gaming to play State of Decay 2. The zombie-filled survival game is now slated to come to Steam in early 2020. You won't have to be worried about finding friends to play, either. The title will support four-person Xbox Live cross-play, so friends who bought the game through the Microsoft Store or on Xbox One can join you in fending off the undead.
PAX South 2015: Moonrise and State of Decay shine at the Undead Labs booth
Most media appointments at an event like PAX South 2015 work like this: You meet the person you're supposed to meet, that person shows you the game her studio is working on, and then you rush off to the next booth on your list while cursing yourself for not scheduling time for a snack. Undead Labs handled my PAX appointment a bit differently, sitting me down for back-to-back play sessions with brand-new tablet game Moonrise and a remastered version of State of Decay, the zombie survival game that put the studio on the map. It was a little jarring to go from adorable pet battles to being torn in half by a zombie, but the two-for-one session provided a nice glimpse of where Undead Labs has been and where it intends to go.
Get prepped for State of Decay: Year One on Xbox One in April
State of Decay: Year One Survival Edition fights for more life on Xbox One starting April 28 in North America, with other countries joining the party on May 1. Microsoft confirmed the game's US price is $30, while owners of the Xbox 360 original can get a 33 percent discount off the Xbox One version up until June 30. The 1080p Xbox One edition of Undead Labs' zombified survival horror comes with add-on packs Breakdown and Lifeline, as well as new content. It's also just part of the developer's "multi-year, multi-title" agreement with Microsoft.
State of Decay Xbox One edition hits in 2015, 1080p
And other numbers. State of Decay: Year-One Survival Edition is heading to Xbox One in spring 2015. The game includes the add-on packs Breakdown and Lifeline, plus new content, and all of it running in 1080p. In January, State of Decay developer Undead Labs announced it had signed a "multi-year, multi-title agreement" with Microsoft Studios. [Image: Microsoft]
PAX Prime 2014: State of Decay takes steps toward something larger
Down at Undead Labs' new studio in Seattle, there is evidence of one low-tech approach to development. It's a very large, flat table that designers use to playtest pen-and-paper games that they create on the spot. By playing back and forth, organic brainstorming occurs and allows for refinement to the systems before precious time is wasted on coding failed ideas. It's this kind of iterative approach that led the team to refining its hit title State of Decay. Today, Undead Labs announced that it will be releasing a new version of the game, called State of Decay: Year-One Survival Edition in the spring of next year on the Xbox One and Steam. Not only will this package in the original game and all of its DLC, but it will benefit from a jump to 1080p visuals, better animations, and immersive environmental effects. Additionally, characters from the Lifeline DLC will be made playable in the original content. It's not the MMO announcement that we might be hoping for on Massively, but it's not a dismissal of that either. The team made a strong point of saying that this was the first step into the next generation and that this edition of the game would be laying down the foundation for the future of the franchise. Massively's on the ground in Seattle during the weekend of August 29th to September 1st, bringing you all the best news from PAX Prime 2014. Whether you're dying to know more about Warlords of Draenor, The Elder Scrolls Online, Landmark, or any MMO in between, you can bet we'll have it covered!
PAX Prime 2014: Hands-on with Undead Labs' Moonrise
One of the maxims of Undead Labs is that the team is composed of "gaming omnivores" who don't want to get stuck in a rut of doing the exact same game and genre over and over again. When this was explained to me, it helped ease the shock that was caused by the realization that a studio best known for its gory zombie survival bent is also making a colorful Pokémon-like title called Moonrise. In Moonrise, you play as a Warden who is tasked with saving a wide variety of cute critters called Solari by -- of course -- enslaving them and making them fight other Wardens and their pets. Instead of striving to overcome its Pokémon heritage, the team admits that the game is specifically targeted at older teens and younger adults who grew up with those games and want to experience a slightly more mature and full-featured iteration. I got to spend some quality time curled up on a couch with a lap full of Moonrise on the iPad at PAX Prime this week. Is this due to be the next "catch 'em all" fad or a strange blip in the company's portfolio? Read on, and I shall make my guess.
State of Decay dev unveils mobile, multiplayer RPG Moonrise
Undead Labs' next project departs the open-world, zombie apocalypse of State of Decay in favor of optimistic, dreamy fantasy and Pokemon-style companions. Dubbed "Moonrise," the multiplayer, mobile roleplaying game centers on the titular Moonrise, an event that causes creatures known as Solari to turn from humanity's peaceful pals to murderous beasts known as Lunari. As a Warden, it's your job to defeat the Lunari (which, helpfully, turns them back into Solari and adds a new ally to your cause). If you get bored of beating on computer-controlled critters, you can also use your squad of loyal Solari to battle other Wardens via online multiplayer. Undead Labs plans to launch a Moonrise beta test on iPhone, iPad and Android devices this Fall. Assuming all goes to plan, Moonrise will make its official debut in "early 2015." [Image: Undead Labs]
State of Decay 'Lifeline' DLC surges to life on May 30
State of Decay's "Lifeline" DLC is due out on May 30 for $7, Undead Labs announced this week. The DLC is in certification now, and "if all goes well," it'll hit on May 30 alongside the "Rucks in Trucks" Title Update. Lifeline places a squadron of soldiers on a new, zombie-infested map, where they must take down the undead, protect their base and rescue survivors. The map is a concrete jungle and former city center, complete with skyscrapers, freeway tunnels and overpasses, and helicopter pads. The Rucks in Trucks Title Update lets players throw a sack of things into the back of a vehicle and drive it away. Undead went into the gritty details of Rucks in Trucks back in March. [Image: Undead Labs]
The Daily Grind: Did you reconnect with any games thanks to PAX East?
Now that PAX East is winding down, it seems as good a time as any to take stock of the news coming from this year's convention. On a personal level, I was excited to hear about the (eventual) MMOification of one of my favorite games. I also enjoyed catching up with Guns of Icarus, an indie title already holding its own and with its eyes on a larger persistent world prize. What about you, Massively readers? Did you glean any useful nuggets from PAX East or perhaps rediscover a game you'd not thought about in a while? Massively's on the ground in Boston during the weekend of April 11th to 13th, bringing you all the best news from PAX East 2014. Whether you're dying to know more about WildStar, Landmark, or any MMO in between, we aim to have it covered!
PAX East 2014: State of Decay eyes multiplayer, stays offline
The ground is fairly littered with zombie games of some sort these days. That isn't meant as a mark against Undead Labs' State of Decay, but it does raise questions of focus. How do you make a zombie game more unique? According to the studio's Jeff Strain at this year's PAX East, you focus upon building at the community level rather than individual survival. While games like DayZ focus on the personal, State of Decay is much more focused on the idea of putting society as a whole back together and trying to accumulate resources and structures for survivors as a whole. Of course, most of our readers are more interested in what comes next, specifically Class4. That's the proposed sequel to State of Decay, previously codenamed Class3; it's meant to be a full MMO according to previous statements, a game in which you can worry about rebuilding not just a local community but the world as a whole. And Undead Labs certainly isn't hurting for talent that's familiar with online games, especially with the acquisition of ArenaNet co-founder Patrick Wyatt in January. So what's happening?
State of Decay 'Lifeline' expansion digs up a new map
State of Decay's second expansion pack, Lifeline, is in the internal testing process at Undead Labs. There's no launch date yet, but it includes a new map and the team is currently putting it through its paces on Steam, Community Director Sanya Weathers says on the Undead blog. "We're not yet ready to discuss features or make promises," Weathers says. "All we can tell you is that it will offer you a new way to play your favorite survival game, that we intend to launch on PC and the Xbox 360 at the same time, and that yes, it will broaden your horizons by a few kilometers. Fine, I'll say it straight up: There's a new map, okay?" Undead launched State of Decay's first expansion, Breakdown, in November. In January, Undead extended its relationship with Microsoft Studios in a "multi-year, multi-title" agreement, and it hired ArenaNet founder and MMO developer Patrick Wyatt. [Image: Undead Labs]
ArenaNet co-founder heads to Undead Labs
Undead Labs announced today that it has hired Patrick Wyatt, co-founder of ArenaNet and co-creator of the original Guild Wars. Wyatt, who left ArenaNet in 2008, joins fellow Guild Wars co-creator Jeff Strain at the State of Decay studio, which has not been shy about its intention to build a zombie-themed MMO. State of Decay, codenamed Class3, launched in 2013 and was confirmed by the studio as a test run for an eventual MMO release, codenamed Class4. Here's Strain on the announcement: Today, I'm very happy to announce that Patrick has joined Undead Labs, and will be working shoulder-to-shoulder with Team Zed as we dive into the development of...well, what's next, and beyond. Undead Labs recently struck a multi-game agreement with Microsoft, paving the way for the studio to continue work on the Class4 project.
State of Decay dev extends relationship with Microsoft Studios
Undead Labs, developer of the runaway zombie hit State of Decay, has signed a "multi-year, multi-title agreement" with Microsoft Studios. "We'll be able to share details later this year, but as with State of Decay, we think it's best if we just keep our heads down and build some prototypes before we talk too much," said company founder Jeff Strain on the Undead Labs blog. "For now, suffice it to say there are big things going on with State of Decay." So, the obvious guess here would be a version of State of Decay for Xbox One à la DayZ. But is that too obvious?
Undead Labs says 'big things are going on with State of Decay'
Is Undead Labs working on its long-rumored State of Decay MMO? Maybe so and maybe no, but the company is working on something big according to founder Jeff Strain's latest blog post. "We'll be able to share details later this year," he writes, "but as with State of Decay, we think it's best if we just keep our heads down and build some prototypes before we talk too much. For now, suffice it to say there are big things going on with State of Decay. Strain also intimates that whatever it is will take quite a while. "It's been a long haul from the original vision to this point, and the road ahead of us will take years to travel. We hope you're up for the trip, because we can't do it without you," he says.
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Seven zombie-infested MMOs for the survivalist in you
Let's talk zombies and post-apocalyptic futures. Sure, the undead have become an overused and watered-down genre, but it's easy to see just why it's so successful -- it practically has something for everyone. The horror fans love it for obvious reasons; there's nothing scarier than the reanimated dead. Sandbox fans and survivalist maniacs love that it represents what happens to society when everything -- and I mean everything -- breaks down. MMO fans adore it because it's all about teamwork and developing a society from the ground up alongside other people. So even though the genre is getting spread a bit thin, it's still as promising as any other. I thought it'd be a good idea to round up many of the current zombie MMOs and pseudo-MMOs so that over the holidays you can celebrate by ignoring your family to bash in a few previously deceased skulls. You can thank me later when all of the training you receive while playing these games helps you survive the coming zombie apocalypse.
State of Decay comes to the PC courtesy of Steam
PC gamers feeling left out while watching their Xbox comrades playing State of Decay can wipe those tears away; the zombie survival title has arrived on Steam. State of Decay is available through the digital distribution platform for a straight-up $19.99. If you're curious about Undead Labs' maiden game, then check out our hands-on coverage. The game was a huge hit on the Xbox and hopefully will be followed by an MMO set in the same world. Undead is also preparing the first DLC for State of Decay called Breakdown that will come to both the PC and Xbox. [Thanks to Soren for the tip!]
State of Decay breaks it down on Steam Early Access tomorrow
State of Decay launches on Steam Early Access tomorrow, September 20, for $20. Undead warns that the Early Access version is not final – it may still crash and it doesn't support keyboard and mouse input yet. Players must use an Xbox 360 controller or similarly compatible gamepad for now. Undead will post keyboard interfaces in progress and use player feedback to perfect those before going live. "This process is not for everyone," Undead writes. "Casual players, the easily frustrated, and the short of time should not get the Early Access version. Hey, I am all three of those things, y'all. Those are not criticisms. It's just that we want everyone to have the experience that best suits their needs." The full version of State of Decay will launch later this year, and Early Access players will of course get that for free, with no need to restart. We found State of Decay on Xbox 360 to be technically frustrating, but an enjoyable zombie survival experience – as enjoyable as such grimness can be, anyway.
State of Decay to hit Steam Early Access in 'a couple of weeks'
Early Access to the zombifed landscape of State of Decay is coming in a "couple of weeks." Undead Labs Director of Community Samya Weathers said this week that there's no exact date for the keyboard-only Steam Early Access version, while the full keyboard-and-mouse game is still due for the PC portal later this year. If you're wondering what Undead Labs is planning beyond State of Decay, including its posited MMO sequel Class4, the Seattle-based studio is working that all out right now. "Discussions of future games are ongoing," said Weathers. "As in, going on now. Thank you from the bottom of all our hearts here at the Lab for making SoD a success, or these conversations wouldn't be happening!" State of Decay passed 500,000 sales shortly after hitting Xbox Live Arcade, and it looks like it's nearing the million mark; we see 938,000-plus players registered on the leaderboards. That's why those conversations are happening.
State of Decay patch fixes large survivor community glitch
Undead Labs has issued another patch for State of Decay on Xbox Live, addressing issues related to gathering a large number of survivors. Prior to the patch, the game would crash, freeze up the console or would fail to load altogether for some in-game survivor collectors. While the majority of players will see this issue resolved with the update, Undead Labs warns that some may need to restart their game, "especially if you had a very large community relatively early in the map progression." Complete patch notes are available on the game's official website.
