The reveal trailer for State of Decay 3 had players hyped about a zombie-infested wilderness, a dramatic atmosphere, and most memorably, a shrieking zombie deer charging through the snow. Here's the thing: none of that reflected an actual game. According to Undead Labs studio head Philip Holt, the game was little more than a Word document at that point.
What the reveal trailer was actually hiding
In a recent interview with Sunny Games, Holt was refreshingly direct about how early-stage the project was when that trailer went public six years ago. "There really wasn't a game or game team when we were working on that trailer, like, it was so early," he said, noting the team consisted of just "four or five people" at the time.
"The game was in a Word document," Holt added. The trailer itself was produced by Blur Studio and was fully pre-rendered, not built from any in-engine footage. It was meant to represent a concept, a creative direction the team was exploring, not a playable product.
That context reframes a lot. The six-year silence between that debut and now makes far more sense when the starting point was essentially a pitch deck dressed up as a cinematic.
RIP, zombie deer
What most players miss when revisiting that original trailer is how much it implied about the game's direction. The zombie deer, in particular, became something of a fan talking point. Infected wildlife felt like a natural evolution for the franchise.
Holt killed that idea with zero ambiguity. "We're not doing zombie animals. No zombie deer. No zombie deer. No zombie deer." Three times, just to make sure it landed.
The pre-rendered trailer captured ideas the team was excited about exploring early on. Some of those concepts survived into the actual game. Others, like the infected wildlife, got cut as the team grew and the design solidified around a clearer vision.
The original State of Decay 3 reveal trailer was produced by Blur Studio and was entirely pre-rendered. No in-engine footage was used.
What the game actually looks like now
The good news is that State of Decay 3 is no longer a Word document. Holt describes the new entry as a blend of the best elements from State of Decay and State of Decay 2, with the story set well after the initial outbreak. That time jump matters mechanically: the world has had years to decay, so survival now leans harder on makeshift strategies, repurposed materials, and community management under genuinely scarce conditions.
Alpha playtests are scheduled to begin in May, with Undead Labs confirming players will get access to four-player co-op, updated base-building systems, resource management mechanics, and combat. According to a development update, the game has been in active, playable development with Xbox Game Studios leadership visiting the studio repeatedly to check on progress.
The Coalition (Gears of War) and the Obsidian-adjacent Avowed team are also reportedly lending support to help build out what Undead Labs is calling a "much larger, truly shared open world." That's a significant scope upgrade from State of Decay 2's map structure.
From concept doc to alpha in six years
The honest version of this story is that State of Decay 3 spent years in a state that most studios wouldn't even call pre-production. A small group of people, a document full of ideas, and a flashy trailer that got way ahead of the actual game. That happens more than the industry likes to admit.
What matters now is that the game exists, playtests are coming, and the team has had time to figure out what State of Decay 3 actually is rather than what it might have been. The zombie deer didn't make it. The survival game did.
Sign up for the alpha through the official State of Decay site if you want to be among the first to see whether six years of development was worth the wait. Make sure to check out more:
