State of Decay 3 Devs Discuss Shared World Multiplayer, Gameplay, and Alpha Testing

2027 could be a historic year for zombie survival games, as State of Decay 3's alpha testing is off to a stellar start, and the developers have delivered the most highly-requested feature, shared world multiplayer.

SoD3 was originally announced in 2020, but until recently, there was almost no information made public about the game's development. Last week's Xbox Games Showcase finally revealed a closer look at what Undead Labs has been cooking in secrecy, with an official SoD3 gameplay reveal trailer that didn't disappoint.

Undead Labs have garnered a loyal following of survival experts that fell in love not only with the game's endless horde-smashing fun, but with the base-management, and community-building features that leave you feeling attached to every survivor you recruit along the way.

As you travel across the zombie-infested world, you'll discover other groups of people fighting to survive, and you'll be able to choose whether to form alliances with them, recruit certain characters, or take a darker, more sinister route, and rob them for their potentially life-saving supplies.

While there was a multiplayer option available in State of Decay 2, it wasn't a shared world experience, meaning your friends could join your game and help you kill zombies, but they wouldn't actually be a part of your community. With shared world multiplayer, State of Decay 3 has the potential to become not only one of the best zombie survival games on the market, it could also become one of the best multiplayer games of 2027.

Just as we've seen with games such as Grounded, or Minecraft, where friends have the ability to start a world together, contribute as they please, and share all the progress, the enjoyment factor of certain games is often multiplied if you're able to share it with others, and I think that will be especially true in State of Decay 3.

Undead Labs Studio Head, Philip Holt, and Art Director, Wayne Laybourn, recently gave a deep-dive interview to drop a few more tasty morsels of information about State of Decay 3's development.

Although the spotlight is definitely on the shared world multiplayer experience, Holt stated SoD3's single-player experience won't be neglected. "As much as we wanted to focus on that (multiplayer), we also started the trailer with just a single player, because we wanted to signal to the audience that this is still a great game as a single-player experience."

State of Decay 3's shared world multiplayer will allow you to:

• Start a shared world with up to four friends
• Build a community together and recruit survivors
• Develop multiple bases and share progression

SoD3's first alpha playtest has concluded, and it appears to have been a massive success, as Laybourn reveals some playtesters clocked over 90 hours of playtime in a single week.

Entering the Home Stretch of Development

Luckily, there will be several more chances to get in on the playtesting action ahead of State of Decay 3's official launch. Holt states, "We will be hosting a second alpha soon, and then some beta tests after that on the run to launch in 2027."

I played State of Decay 2 extensively and loved every minute of it. I remember the first time I lost one of my favorite survivors to a swarm of zombies—absolutely devastating. And this is why SoD3 is so good. After handpicking your recruits and developing each character, you become attached to them, and it makes every scenario extremely tense because you don't want anyone to die.

And yet, I was dying to be able to share the full experience with my friends, and as Holt explains, our hopes have been answered, "This untethered shared world is the ultimate fulfillment of the fantasy of, we're building a base together, and we're trying to save these survivors."