State of Decay 3 update reveals playtests coming in May 2026

Undead Labs' long-awaited survival game is going into a public alpha

Undead Labs dropped a major positive update on the long-awaited next State of Decay game on Friday, revealing that players will get their hands on State of Decay 3 with the launch of alpha playtests coming in May. State of Decay 3 was announced nearly six years ago, with news about the co-op zombie survival game coming intermittently. The latest update from Undead Labs helps explain why.

Brant Fitzgerald, art director and franchise co-creator of State of Decay, noted that much of the Undead Labs team has been focused on updates for State of Decay 2 in recent years. But the rest of the team, he said, has been "creating cool [shit]" for State of Decay 3. Now, after gathering feedback on Discord and through YouTube gameplay, "it became clear that community is survival, and we need your help," Fitzgerald said.

As such, Undead Labs will be hosting a series of alpha playtests with the community, which will feature "four-player co-op, some new base-building and resource strategies, and a whole lot of combat," the developer said. According to Fitzgerald, there will be "plenty of opportunities throughout the year" for State of Decay fans to jump into the alpha playtests.

Players interested in alpha testing State of Decay 3 can sign up at the franchise's official website. Players will need a Discord account to sign up. (At the time of writing, the Undead Labs Discord appeared to be overwhelmed with interest; we were unable to complete the registration process ourselves.)

State of Decay 3 was announced back in 2020 at that year's Xbox Games Showcase with a release planned for Windows PC and Xbox Series X. Undead Labs has provided a handful of updates on its progress over the years, with a gameplay trailer dropping in 2024. The game's development had reportedly stagnated in the years after its announcement, but it appears that Undead Labs and owner Microsoft finally have something substantial to show in 2026.

With the recent announcement of this year's Xbox Games Showcase for June 7, we'll hopefully see much more of State of Decay 3 soon.

The original State of Decay was released in 2013 for Xbox 360. The sequel came to Xbox One in 2018. State of Decay 2 was updated many times throughout its lifespan, including the narrative-focused Heartland campaign and the Juggernaut Edition, which gave the game more open-world content and a series of graphics upgrades.