State Of Decay 3 Dev Undead Labs Is Now Fully Independent

State Of Decay 3 Developer Is Officially An Employee-Owned Independent Studio Published Sep 22, 2026, 1:31 PM EDT Joshua Robertson is an editor for TheGamer, having working in news, guides, features, and reviews since 2022. They have written thousands of news stories, ranging from industry-breaking events, to smaller, more personal community pieces, and have covered several high-profile showcases such as The Game Awards and Nintendo Directs. Joshua is considered an expert in soulslikes, horror, JRPGs and everything Final Fantasy, having written extensive coverage for massively popular online titles like Final Fantasy 14. Sign in to your TheGamer account It's been another truly wretched day for Xbox. Not only have they laid off almost 300 more people, but it's also further gutted studios like Obsidian and Rare by having them absorbed by the likes of Bethesda and Activision, while it's also about to shut down Ninja Theory after a couple of potential deals for the studio fell apart at the last minute. Despite all of that, there has been a sliver of good Xbox-related news today, and that's an announcement from State of Decay 3 developer Undead Labs. You'll remember that the studio was split off from Xbox as part of the company's initial 1,600 layoffs and restructuring, but just like with South of Midnight developer Compulsion Games, it has now announced that it's no longer controlled by Xbox. Undead Labs Is Finally Independent Again In a new statement released on the Undead Labs website, the studio announced that it's completed its total separation from Xbox and is now a completely independent studio. To make matters even better, Undead Labs is also now completely employee-owned, meaning it isn't publicly traded and has no shareholders. Every employee has a financial stake in the company, but complete creative freedom. "Independence brings us closer to our community and lets us focus on what matters most: making the best games we can and earning the continued support of the people who choose to spend their time with us," said studio head Philip Holt. "State of Decay exists because millions of players have made that choice over the years, and we’re dedicated to honoring their trust." It's also explained that State of Decay 3 remains in active development at this time, with the game currently in alpha. It's still sticking with its goal of having a beta ready before the end of the year, and a full release in 2027 on PC, Xbox, and PlayStation, while it's also confirmed it will be launching on Game Pass, something that was up in the air ever since the split. Systems Released 2027 ESRB m Developer(s) Undead Labs Publisher(s) Xbox Game Studios Engine Unreal Engine 5