state of decay 3 lingered in pre-production for the past two years, reports Kotakuwhile Undead Labs has evolved from a lean, ambitious indie studio into a first-party Xbox developer struggling with major industry issues like a toxic workplace, discrimination and burnout.
In fact, reports Kotaku, Undead Labs was forced to announce this state of decay 3 at the Xbox Games Showcase in July 2020 long before the developers thought the game was finished. This, the Undead Labs veterans said, was followed by a rushed internal demo for Microsoft management, adding to their dismay.
state of decay 3According to unnamed sources cited by Kotaku, there should be two more internal demos in fall 2021, and Philip Holt, the studio head, has been named Undead Labs chief of staff after Microsoft acquired the studio in 2018, wanted both to include actual gameplay. Developers “revolted,” the report said, at the work and crunch it would take to get the project out of such a state. While Holt relented, the disruption still pushed many Undead Labs veterans out the door, the developers said.
“If pre-production looked like this, there was no way I could stick with full production,” an unidentified developer told Kotaku.
state of decay 3 does not yet have an official launch date or window. The Xbox Games Showcase 2020 announcement was known for a pre-render trailer that focused on a zombie deer seen through the scope of a crossbow.
“They’re still ahead with a lot of stuff,” said another developer. In the meantime, Kotaku’s detailed report portrayed Undead Labs as troubled by internal disagreements and suspicions over discrimination and wrongdoing that many employees felt had been overlooked by the new Microsoft boss.