'State of Decay 3' release date, details: Zombie animals could be a huge problem in upcoming game

The "State of Decay" series may not have started off as a massive AAA franchise, but it has steadily grown into one with a cult following. "State of Decay 3" has already been confirmed, but Microsoft has remained tight-lipped about the upcoming title. Here's what we know about the sequel.

'State of Decay 3' release date

The "State of Decay 3" was announced back in July 2020 with the release of the cinematic trailer on the Xbox Game. At that time, Undead Labs said that the game was in the early pre-production stage, according to Digitaltrends.

And then the coronavirus pandemic hit. Details are scarce at this point but it's likely that production was affected as well. Fans were hoping to get some update about the "State of Decay 3" release date during the Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase 2022, but the title was not mentioned.

It now appears that the game is still in pre-production, which means that fans will have to wait a bit before a "State of Decay 3" announcement will happen. Many expect this to happen at the 2023 showcase.

'State of Decay 3' trailer

In July 2020, Microsoft released the "State of Decay 3" cinematic announcement trailer, giving fans the first and only glimpse they have of the upcoming title. There's certainly a lot to unpack, even though the trailer doesn't give any plot or gameplay elements.

The game's setting may be Alaska, Colorado, Wyoming, or Canada, according to fans' speculation based on the scenery in the teaser, which depicts a lone female survivor attempting to survive in a chilly, inhospitable environment. In the night, piercing white eyes peer down at the lone human as the survivor sharpens wooden bolts for her crossbow next to a campfire.

After hearing something in the nearby woodland, the survivor does something we've all been taught not to do in a zombie apocalypse scenario: she screams at whatever is hunting her, not out of fear, but seemingly to intimidate it. Instead of firing her crossbow, running away, or at least extinguishing her fire to be less visible, the survivor does. It also works! Whatever was infiltrating her encampment flees.

Later in the brief teaser, the survivor discovers a trail of blood in the snow and starts looking for the injured person or animal. She observes a wolf carcass being consumed by what appears to be a zombified deer as she stares into the crossbow's eyepieces; the deer's entire right side is ripped open and rotting. After a brief pause, the deer screams horrifyingly, and the trailer stops abruptly.