State of Decay 2 Update 29 arrives with graphical improvements, field-of-view-slider, and more

Update, Feb. 22, 2022 (11:10 p.m. CT): Update 29 for State of Decay 2 is now live with all its improvements and visual enhancements.

What you need to know

• State of Decay 2 is a post-apocalyptic zombie-survival game from Undead Labs and Xbox Game Studios.
• The team has supported State of Decay 2 for years with free content updates and patches, continuing into 2022.
• A recent Undead Labs stream revealed that the next SoD 2 release, Update 29, will give the original three maps significant visual facelifts.
• The update is coming before a more major future release completely overhauling the game's Infestations systems.

State of Decay 2 has maintained a cult-like following thanks to its intense zombie-survival experience and Undead Labs' unending commitment to supporting it with new content and improvements. It was recently revealed that State of Decay 2 will continue to be updated throughout 2022. A new stream reveals that the next content release is Update 29, which foremost boasts of a graphical enhancement for all three of the original State of Decay 2 maps.

The latest Undead Labs stream divulges all the secrets for Update 29, which is coming soon to State of Decay 2 and will undoubtedly excite plenty of players. While the update will also feature quality-of-life improvements and changes, the headling feature is a visual facelift for SoD 2's original three maps.

With Update 29, Cascade Hills, Drucker County, and Meagher Valley will all enjoy significant graphical enhancements across the board, similar to previous updates to Providence Ridge and Trumbull Valley maps. Also mirroring the prior enhancements, Update 29's graphical improvements were supported by Valkyrie Entertainment, which was recently acquired by PlayStation. Before Valkyrie officially shifted focus to work under PlayStation, Undead Labs asked it to help with this update.

Here are some of the changes included in Update 29:

• Graphical enhancements for Cascade Hills, Drucker County, and Meagher Valley. State of Decay 2's original trio of maps will enjoy a makeover with Update 29 with an updated visual style and various graphical improvements. Drucker County, in particular, is receiving a plethora of enhancements to make it visually distinct from other State of Decay 2 maps.
  • Updated lighting across the board, including ambiance and direct lighting
  • Updated foliage and vegetation, including new textures, greater depth and fullness, and more
  • Updated background scenery, making the maps feel more unique and dynamic
  • Updated ground textures, scenery, and rocks
  • Additional weather and ambient effects
  • No cost to performance or minimum requirements
• Quality-of-life improvements. Update 29 doesn't stop at visual enhancements, either, as the release will also improve the game in various other ways, including (but not limited to):
  • Field-of-view slider in settings
  • New icons to make rare and unique weapons visually distinct
  • The ability to smash fences and other breakable objects with heavy weapons
  • Fixes for characters become stuck in a crouching state
  • Advanced Toolkits can occassionally be found in Plague Harts

Update 29 doesn't have a defined release date yet, as it has to be tested thoroughly first, but it should arrive within a month. Before its official release, Update 29 is heading to the Public Test realm for hardcore State of Decay 2 players to test and submit feedback for first.

State of Decay 2 was far from perfect at release, but after nearly four years of constant support the game is a completely different beast now, with vastly superior visuals, performance, and features. Update 29 will pair wonderfully with State of Decay 2 on Xbox Series X|S, thanks to the dramatically improved map visuals.

In case you missed it, State of Decay 2 is set to overhaul its Infestations systems later in 2022 in a future release larger in scale than Update 29. If you haven't experienced State of Decay 2, yet, it's easily one of the best Xbox games for fans of the genre, and is available through Xbox Game Pass.

Undead Labs is also actively working on SoD2's sequel, State of Decay 3, which is expected to be a massively expanded game over its predecessor. The title is pretty mysterious, but is being built by a larger team and is backed by the full support of Xbox Game Studios. Undead Labs is also known to be expanding its team, going on a recent hiring spree.

Update, Feb. 22, 2022 (11:10 p.m. CT) — State of Decay 2 Update 29 is now available to all players

State of Decay 2 Update 29 is officially rolling out to players on Xbox and PC platforms with a host of graphical enhancements for the game's original three maps, quality-of-life improvements like a field-of-view slider, and much more. You can check out the changelog on Steam.