When Microsoft revealed State of Decay 3 back in 2020 as a follow-up to the popular series of survival horror games, fans of the franchise were excited to see what the future would hold for State of Decay. Undead Labs would later confirm that the newest State of Decay was in pre-production, with a release still far off into the future. Now, a prominent member of the development team for Saints Row 5 is set to join Undead Labs and the State of Decay team.

State of Decay 3 was first announced in July 2020 during an Xbox Games Showcase focusing on upcoming titles for the Xbox Series X. The cinematic reveal trailer showed off zombie deer and hinted at a return to the game's core survival mechanics, which could be good news for fans since the last game, State of Decay 2, was criticized for a lack of depth in its gameplay. Not much has been revealed about the in-development third game in the franchise, but a recent announcement revealed Saints Row 5 Technical Art Director Mitri Van would be joining Undead Labs to work on State of Decay 3.

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Microsoft insider Klobrille recently announced via Twitter that Van would officially be joining Undead Labs as a Principal Technical Artist. Van had previously been with Deep Silver Volition for over twenty years, working on the Saints Row franchise since Saints Row 2, as well as Volition's The Punisher based on the comic book and 2004 film of the same name. Van also worked as Technical Art Director for Deep Silver Volition on nearly every project he was involved with for the twenty-plus years he spent with the company.

Klobrille goes on to mention the significant growth within Undead Labs since the release of State of Decay 2, with the Xbox Game Studios subsidiary boasting over 100 members to date. The developer recently saw the departure of one of its inaugural members, as founder Jeff Strain left the company last month to found a 'distributed game studio' named Possibility Space. Strain has been active on the front of pushing for employee rights amongst the game industry, previously publishing a letter calling for developers to unionize.

Despite the announcement of a third State of Decay being in development, Undead Labs has continued to support the second game with a steady stream of new content. September saw the release of the highly-anticipated Homecoming expansion for State of Decay 2, allowing players to once again explore the original game's Trumbull Valley map within the sequel. With Undead Labs still keeping much of the juicy details for State of Decay 3 under wraps, fans will have to wait and see what the franchise's next entry will bring to the table.

State of Decay 3 is currently in development for the PC and Xbox Series X/S.

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