# “We basically rewrote the entire State of Decay game”: Undead Labs spent years trying to make State of Decay 3 into a full-blown zombie apocalypse MMO

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/we-basically-rewrote-the-entire-state-of-decay-game-undead-labs-spent-years-trying-to-make-state-of-decay-3-into-a-full-blown-zombie-apocalypse-mmo/
- Published: 2026-10-28T15:11:12+00:00
- Original publisher: Rock Paper Shotgun
- Original article: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/we-basically-rewrote-the-entire-state-of-decay-game-undead-labs-spent-years-trying-to-make-state-of-decay-3-into-a-full-blown-zombie-apocalypse-mmo
- Topics: Entertainment, Film, Horror

## Key points

- State of Decay 3 was once planned as a global-scale MMO.
- Undead Labs pivoted in late 2022 or 2023 and rewrote much of the game.
- A publisher is funding the final months after Xbox cut ties.

## Summary

The new account reveals that State of Decay 3 spent several years in development as a planned MMO before Undead Labs changed course. The shift back towards the scale of the earlier survival games meant rebuilding much of the project, helping explain why the version now being made dates only from late 2022 or 2023.

After the game’s 2020 announcement, a small team worked on technology for an MMO while the rest of the studio supported State of Decay 2. CEO Philip Holt said the studio would not repeat such a sweeping rewrite; following Xbox’s decision to end its relationship with Undead Labs, a publisher agreed to fund the game’s final development months, though the studio also laid off a significant number of staff.

## Coverage

- [Rock Paper Shotgun: “We basically rewrote the entire State of Decay game”: Undead Labs spent years trying to make State of Decay 3 into a full-blown zombie apocalypse MMO](https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/we-basically-rewrote-the-entire-state-of-decay-game-undead-labs-spent-years-trying-to-make-state-of-decay-3-into-a-full-blown-zombie-apocalypse-mmo)
- [GameSpot: Here’s Why State Of Decay 3 Has Taken 6 Years To Develop So Far](https://www.gamespot.com/articles/heres-why-state-of-decay-3-has-taken-6-years-to-develop-so-far/)

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.