State of Decay

State of Decay is an open-world zombie-survival game developed by Undead Labs and originally published by Microsoft Studios for Xbox 360 through Xbox Live Arcade in June 2013. It later reached Windows, while expanded appeared on Xbox One, Steam, and additional platforms through later publishing arrangements, including Steam in 2015.

The campaign is set in the fictional Trumbull Valley, where a zombie outbreak has destroyed normal civil order. Player characters establish and manage a survivor community rather than merely completing a single protagonist's story. Scavenging homes, stores, and public buildings supplies food, medicine, ammunition, building materials, and other essential resources.

At a home base, players assign survivors to facilities, build or improve spaces, and balance daily needs against limited stockpiles. Community members have individual skills and traits, but fatigue, injury, illness, and death can permanently change the available roster. This persistent consequence reinforces the game's emphasis on survival management decisions.

Combat includes firearms, melee weapons, stealth, and distractions, although noise can draw more undead toward the player. Vehicles allow faster travel across Trumbull Valley, but collisions and rough use damage them. Special infected called freaks create distinct threats, including fast Feral zombies, massive Juggernauts, toxic Bloaters, and screaming Screamers nearby.

The game does not use a fully scripted linear campaign structure: missions emerge from community needs, individual survivors, and contacts met across the map. Radio requests can send the player to rescue people, retrieve supplies, or confront infestations. The resulting stories can differ because characters may live, die, or disappear.

State of Decay was created by Undead Labs, a studio founded by Jeff Strain. Before forming Undead Labs, Strain had co-founded ArenaNet and served as a key figure in Guild Wars development. The original game's success led to continued support, later editions, and an officially numbered sequel, State of Decay 2.

Released in 2018, State of Decay 2 retained the community survival framework while adding cooperative multiplayer. The first game also received downloadable additions, including Breakdown and Lifeline. Breakdown provides a score-focused survival mode with repeated escape goals, whereas Lifeline shifts to Danforth, a city under military evacuation and siege pressures there.

In 2020, Microsoft acquired Undead Labs, placing the studio among Xbox Game Studios. The franchise continued with State of Decay 2's Juggernaut Edition, a 2020 update that revised onboarding and added the Providence Ridge map. A third State of Decay game was announced in 2020, with Undead Labs attached as its developer.