This huge, hotly anticipated Xbox game is "coming on really well," but Xbox's publishing lead can't say more — "I think the [PR] in this room will murder me"

Hey, remember State of Decay 3? You could be forgiven for forgetting about it, seeing as it's largely felt like Microsoft and Xbox have since it was announced with a short cinematic trailer six years ago. Save for another brief trailer at 2024's Xbox Games Showcase, we've heard nothing about the zombie survival game sequel, with no release date to look forward to. Not even a release window.

Developer Undead Labs and Xbox have been radio silent for so long that some fear the game has been canceled. Briefly touching on the title in a new interview, though, Xbox Game Studios head Craig Duncan has confirmed that State of Decay 3 is still in development — and says that what he's seen of it himself is very promising.

"I think the [PR] in this room will murder me if I give you the answer to that," Duncan commented to GamesRadar+ when asked if we'd see more of State of Decay 3 in 2026. "So, here's what I'll say: I have done a number of visits to that studio in the last six to eight months. I have sat and played the game with the team a bunch of times. It's coming on really well. We're very excited about the franchise and its potential. So I will certainly see a lot more of it in the coming year — is that a good answer to your question?"

It's a reassuring statement coming from the head of Xbox publishing, though it's still frustrating that this is one of the only morsels of information we have about State of Decay 3 after six years of development. Still, this should assuage any fears that fans had about the project being axed.

Notably, though, it's hard to blame players for being worried, or annoyed. Xbox has something of a bad reputation for announcing games very early, only to cancel them or leave fans waiting for ages. Microsoft infamously killing Everwild and Perfect Dark last year amid layoffs comes to mind, as does the end of Avalanche Studios' Contraband. And, y'know, the never-ending wait for The Elder Scrolls 6, announced in 2018.

State of Decay 3 - Xbox Games Showcase 2024 - YouTube

Watch On

Fortunately, it seems this new State of Decay installment will have a much better fate. But will we actually see more of it later in 2026? Could we even get a surprise 2026 release date for the long-awaited, highly anticipated open-world survival game?

Duncan couldn't give a clear answer to these questions, of course, though the somewhat playful nature of his response to the one he was asked does make me think there's a serious possibility we will, at the very least, get another look at Undead Labs' next game this year.

Something at the Xbox Games Showcase 2026 in the summer is perfectly reasonable to expect and hope for, in fact. A surprise launch or shadow drop in 2026, however, is far less so; I wholeheartedly believe Microsoft would have included State of Decay 3 in the Xbox Developer Direct 2026 show if it was coming this year.

Ultimately, only time will tell if there's more State of Decay 3 in store for us in 2026, and if we'll finally get a release date or window after six long years of waiting. Whenever it does eventually arrive, note that as a first-party Microsoft title, it will be available to play on Xbox Game Pass.

State of Decay 2, the most-recent entry in the series released in 2018, got its final update in late 2024 as the teams at Undead Labs focused wholly on State of Decay 3. The update fixed a huge number of bugs and issues, while also unlocking all previously limited-time content for all players.

Are you excited for State of Decay 3? Do you think Undead Labs is going to deliver an experience worth the six year-long wait we've had to endure for it? Hit me with how you're feeling in the comments.

Follow Windows Central on Google News to keep our latest news, insights, and features at the top of your feeds!