State of Decay 3 Was Announced Early Over Studio's Fear of Xbox Plans

Undead Labs boss Jeff Holt said State of Decay 3 was revealed in 2020 ahead of schedule out of fear the studio could be "swallowed up or divested" amid Microsoft's acquisition spree. Full development only ramped up in 2023, and the game remains in active development with a day-one Game Pass launch.

• State of Decay 3 was announced in 2020, two years after State of Decay 2
• Full development only began in 2023; before that the team was very small
• Microsoft acquired Undead Labs in 2018 along with Ninja Theory and Compulsion Games
• Undead Labs went independent from Microsoft last month