Undead Labs Clarifies State of Decay 3 Trailer, Reveals Alpha Test

Undead Labs, the developer behind the State of Decay series, has disclosed that the 2020 reveal trailer for State of Decay 3 was a conceptual piece created long before actual development began, confirming that elements like zombie animals will not appear in the final game. The announcement comes alongside the reveal of an upcoming alpha playtest, offering fans their first hands-on opportunity with the survival horror title.

The trailer, unveiled during Microsoft's Xbox Showcase in July 2020, featured dramatic scenes of zombified wildlife, including a deer stalking through a snowy forest. In a recent interview with content creator Sunny Games, studio head Philip Holt explained the production's early timing. "There really wasn't a game or a game team when we were working on that trailer," Holt said. "It was so early... The game was in a Word document." He noted that the prerendered footage, produced by animation studio Blur, explored potential ideas with a team of just four or five people. "It represented a concept, our thoughts at the time of what might be cool to explore in State of Decay 3," Holt added. While some concepts have carried forward, others have been scrapped,...