You can finally play this long-awaited Xbox game soon — its studio is hosting alpha playtests next month, and you can sign up for them now

Nearly six years after the game was originally announced in Summer 2020, fans will soon finally have the chance to get their hands on the highly anticipated Xbox and PC survival horror shooter State of Decay 3 for the first time. The sequel to Undead Labs' 2018 release State of Decay 2 has been kept almost entirely under wraps, but that's finally changing.

Next month, Xbox and Undead Labs are hosting an alpha playtest for the game, with plans for further and expanded playtests later this year. Series co-creator Brant Fitzgerald announced this news in a new video, while also explaining that State of Decay 3 has been built around the feedback received about the second game.

"We've been keeping a close eye on what you liked about State of Decay 2, and what you didn't. We've read your feedback on Discord. We've watched your gameplay clips and livestreams on YouTube," he said. "And through it all, we've seen how powerful and tight-knit this community is."

"It became clear that community is survival, and that we need your help," Fitzgerald continued. "And if you've made it this far, great. Because starting next month, we'll be hosting a series of alpha playtests with the community. Listen, I'm not going to spoil the surprise for you. But I can say it will feature 4-player co-op, some new base building and resource strategies, and a whole lot of combat."

State of Decay 3 Alpha Announce - YouTube

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Sign-ups for the State of Decay 3 alpha are live now over at playtest.stateofdecay.com, so if you're interested in playing the game early ahead of its unannounced release date (it doesn't even have a release window at the moment), make sure you register. When the playtest arrives in May, you'll likely know if you got in or not based on whether or not you receive an email with instructions for how to play.

If you don't get into the initial test, don't worry; Fitzgerald says Undead Labs will "keep your name on the list, and have plenty of opportunities for you throughout the year." Presumably, each new playtest will broaden in scope and include more gameplay elements and features for fans to test out.

The wait for this game has been a long one for State of Decay fans, especially since we've gotten next to no news for nearly six years and State of Decay 2 stopped getting updates in late 2024. With that in mind, it's great that players will finally have a chance to actually play it, even if the full release still seems like it's quite a ways away.

We have no clue when we'll be getting a release date for State of Decay 3, though we do know it's "coming on really well," so hopefully one comes during this year's Xbox Games Showcase in the summer. Whenever the game does come out, it'll be available to play on Xbox Series X|S and Windows PC, as well as on Xbox Game Pass.

🗨️ Excited for State of Decay 3?

After a painfully long wait of nearly six years, gamers on Xbox and PC will finally soon have an opportunity to get their hands on Undead Labs' upcoming State of Decay 3. Even if you don't manage to get into the first playtest, it's very likely you'll get into one of the later ones as the developers expand the alpha's availability.

Are you excited to finally play State of Decay 3, or were you never really interested to begin with? Let me know in the comments, and vote in our poll.

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