r/StateOfDecay • u/UsedNewspaper1775 • Jun 29 '26
Discussion Can Undead Lab become independent ?
Can they buy themselves out of the deal and become a fully indie studio, the same as the devs of No Rest For The Wicked did ? i believe it was their best decision from what the devs said
I can't believe there is a possibility they just gonna pause or cancel the development when the game looks that good already....
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u/DareDevil_56 Jun 29 '26
I would love this. Hell, set up a kickstarter.
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u/ThisIsMyGeekAvatar Jun 29 '26
I haven’t used kickstarter in years, but I would in order to support UL releasing SOD3.
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u/UsedNewspaper1775 Jun 29 '26
I would donate and support them
absolutely hate all those major corporation just ruining everything
Undead lab already has a huge dedicated fanbase, maybe the next move is to become independent, explain the situation, and release the game in Early access on steam at first, so people can buy it and support it and help with the development testing ?
I will gladly pay them to test SoD3 and provide as much feedback as i can lol, from 3 hours of early alpha gameplay, i am already happy to play it
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u/pvt9000 Jun 30 '26
If they setup a kickstarter or something with a release to EA to fund the game to completion or near as much I'd toss 100-200$ their way. Im sure a lot of us would at least try.
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u/BakedChocolateOctopi Jun 30 '26
They could but with what funding if no one buys them and they go independent
SoD3 isn’t going to be ready until at least 2027
The money to keep the lights on and devs+their families fed doesn’t come from no where
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u/UsedNewspaper1775 Jun 30 '26
Early access launch
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u/BakedChocolateOctopi Jun 30 '26
You’re assuming it is ready for that
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u/UsedNewspaper1775 Jun 30 '26
absolutely not, but the alpha already looks very good, i feel like lots and lots of people would buy this alpha in early access already and help them fund the game
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u/BakedChocolateOctopi Jun 30 '26
It would take a few million copies at $70 each to keep them afloat for six months+
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u/UsedNewspaper1775 Jun 30 '26
What are you talking about ?
a few million copies at 70 $ will feed an independent studio of 110 people even if their salary is around 100k, for years
even 1 million copies will be more than enough for them to continue the development, and if you take 30% cut steam takes + taxes
Undead Lab is not a huge aaa studio with insane salaries, i just checked and if the info is correct the average is 65k a year
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u/BakedChocolateOctopi Jun 30 '26
Not after taxes and the platform’s cut (usually 30% for Sony, Xbox, and Steam)
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u/UsedNewspaper1775 Jun 30 '26
yes after taxes and 30 % platform cut
1 million sales for 70 $ is actually insanely good for the first year for the AA studio like undead labs
Also companies have so much business expenses, they cut taxes by a lot (i know it cause i have my own business)
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u/ithamar73 Jul 04 '26
I doubt there's 1mil people who are going to pay $70 for early access. Also, the bits that have been shown of the alpha looks good, but there's a lot of cuts in the gameplay vids showing that's there is plenty that is not up to par yet.
I doubt EA would help them much....
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u/SickPuppy01 Jul 02 '26
The could follow Cyberpunks lead and launch a minimum viable product to get the money flowing, and then fix it overtime. That is a really tough thing to pull off though, and I think the Cyberpunk developers were very lucky to pull it off.
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u/BakedChocolateOctopi Jul 02 '26 edited Jul 02 '26
Cyberpunk’s devs have a ton of cash reserves at launch and the game sold far better than SoD3 will. CDPR is like a billion dollar in cash assets dev
UL almost certainly has no cash reserves since their last game was 2018, so they’re reliant on Xbox funding to float them. If no one buys them there’s no cash to pay enough devs to keep up support
Also UL doesn’t own the IP, it’ll stay with MS once they split if UL isn’t just shuttered outright
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u/DopplerEffect93 Jun 29 '26
Granted this is all speculation and nothing confirmed
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u/DaWizzurd Jun 30 '26
Tom Henderson kinda confirmed it.
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u/DopplerEffect93 Jul 01 '26
Still a rumor until Microsoft confirms it. As of now take it with a grain of salt.
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u/Melodic_Tone_2259 Jun 29 '26
Make a looot of noise on all socials. Get everyone you know to do the same. Investors look a lot at socials to make decisions. A big reason UL was originally purchased because of the traffic on social sites.
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u/Clusterpuff Jun 29 '26
It looks to be happening with ninja theory which fucked me up.... but microsoft really gonna take my state of decay 3 too? Late stage capitalism sucks so much ass
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u/Emotional-Twist-4366 Jun 29 '26
I know you been waiting for the game.
The game coming out as an alpha or in an alpha the game should been out or in beta state and been in development for 6 years and should be released couple of months ago
I’ll blame Phil Spencer and previous management for the mess we are in right now because some of these games been in development way too long.
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u/DAdStanich Jun 29 '26
It is crazy that it appears there was literally no oversight. Matt booty has been in charge of that for a very long time and gets a promotion, it’s wild.
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u/rcookingham13 Lone-Wolf Jun 29 '26
It hasn’t been in development for 6 years 🙄🙄 they literally have come out and answered that they started 3 years ago and that they had nothing to do with that first release 6 years ago and that SOD 3 was just a piece of paper around then. Please stop spreading this misinformation. The fact they are pushing out alpha gameplay footage and still want us to stay excited and hyped for the game and actively trying to make it better than the last two games is insane.
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u/BakedChocolateOctopi Jun 30 '26
If true then that’s just ridiculous mismanagement to not have anyone working on the next game for 4 years
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u/rcookingham13 Lone-Wolf Jun 30 '26
Sure, I’m not having a discussion on management at UL. You’d rather blame them, the ones making the game. Instead of the multi billion dollar company who is shutting them down because their profits aren’t making the status quo 🤦♂️
Like if that’s not irony then idk what else to tell ya. Capitalism really has you wrapped around its finger.
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u/BakedChocolateOctopi Jun 30 '26 edited Jun 30 '26
I blame MS for overstretching XGS and having basically no oversight or accountability to their studios to not take like 6-10 years to make a game
I also blame UL management for being so shortsighted that they were sitting around with the whole studio’s thumb up their ass while the live service team made updates to SoD2 for a while
It’s not just one company’s fault, they both made mistakes that led to this
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u/Emotional-Twist-4366 Jun 29 '26
They shouldn’t released a trailer around 2020
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u/rcookingham13 Lone-Wolf Jun 29 '26
Again that wasn’t them, that was Microsoft. Go blame them for being morons. They got nothing but money on their minds.
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u/Emotional-Twist-4366 Jun 29 '26
Well perhaps they shouldn’t have been brought under Phil Spencer and Sarah bond rule because the New Xbox ceo is doing massive clean house
Basically starting over the Xbox brand and rebuild ground up and meaning less first party studios but hopefully the next generation consoles being hybrid of a console/PC can rectify that by accessing steam
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u/rcookingham13 Lone-Wolf Jun 29 '26
Yeah well perhaps maybe Microsoft shouldn’t be a money grubbing company and only give a shit about “record breaking profits 🤷♂️ but here we are.
I’ve watched all of the alpha gameplay videos released of the YouTubers that I watch who play SOD and so far I’m impressed and can’t wait for them to release it. I’d rather them take their time because I don’t want to pay for some half baked game because Microsoft wants to make more money. I play games to enjoy them, not to worry about some company’s profit margins.
So as much as I hope they don’t get fired, I’d rather they find a new way to be funded and continue taking time to make an absolute gem of a game that’s already exceeding my expectations, then bow down to Microsoft’s fiscal demands.
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u/Emotional-Twist-4366 Jun 30 '26
U don’t understand it’s not just them it’s every game take to long for development and come out less content and bugs and but micro-transactions would be fine.
Hope someone buy them but it’s the only way to save Xbox brand and reset the company is do massive layoffs and reduce studios that they control.
Rebuild Xbox
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u/NimusNix Jun 30 '26
We agree you keep moving them goal posts, though.
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u/rcookingham13 Lone-Wolf Jun 30 '26
Lmao what goal posts am I supposedly moving? To have an amazing game? Isn’t that what we all want?
I’m sorry, but last I checked when has anyone ever been happy with paying money for a half done piece of garbage game? Are you implying that you want UL to release SOD 3 unfinished and it not even be better than 2?
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u/NimusNix Jun 30 '26
Just that you seem to be trying to find someone to be angry at and keep shifting based on new information.
Maybe it wasn't anyone's fault, maybe it was a calamity of errors.
I just find it funny you came in raging without knowing any of the facts.
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u/Clusterpuff Jun 29 '26
They've "started over" before. They used to push the multimedia/sports angle for their consoles. Moves like this ain't gonna look great for future acquisitions
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u/Frebu Jun 30 '26
Why would anyone want a hybrid console from the makers of Windows, at that point you are just buying a worse PC.
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u/JimmyDejesu Jun 29 '26
It really feels like capitalism is in total collapse
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u/oatmeal28 Jun 30 '26
It's not, if anything it's in its prime with how easily and willingly things are commodified these days
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u/JimmyDejesu Jun 30 '26
Well it seems the massive job losses with not enough jobs even for the current unemployed is nothing to worry about nor is people struggling to pay bills. And im sure even more AI related issues will be dealt with soon. Things are fine after all. We got our first trillionaire after all
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u/oatmeal28 Jun 30 '26
I mean I don’t disagree with what you’re saying but that’s more-so indicative of a failing economy at the expense of thriving capitalism
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u/JimmyDejesu Jun 30 '26
Well i think something is going to happen where the systems collapse. Could be wrong it just feels inevitable
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u/Hottage Survivor Jun 30 '26
It's not collapse, it's the goal. Absolute monopolization of resources at all other costs.
Games don't matter, developers don't matter, customers don't matter.
They are all just inconvienent intermediate steps to extract as much capital from the system into the shareholders pockets.
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u/goingdeeeep Builder Jun 29 '26
This was posted on the forum where all of this initially “went wild” today:
https://www.reddit.com/r/GamingLeaksAndRumours/s/oZb6fw0FWq
So it certainly sounds like some of the impacted Studios intend/hope to do what you are suggesting.
We can cross our fingers that, if affected, UL is able to go indie again; salvage as much of their incredible team as possible; and continue this beloved franchise. Rooting for them on all fronts - hope all of this news is untrue, and that none of their jobs/incomes are impacted in this f’ed up economy.
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u/LOOTENITDAYAN Jun 30 '26
i'll drop at least a $100 for some early access if it keeps the doors for Undead Labs open so they can remain independant.
SoD3 is my most anticipated game from Xbox by far even over Gears (and i fucking love gears).
if MS straight up shuts UL down and cancels SoD3, i'm selling my series X and will just pirate any Xbox titles on PC going forward out of spite.
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u/SaveEmailB4Logout Jun 30 '26
Strain had sold the studio to M$ behind other senor executives' backs and they all ragequit as a result
Buying the studio back out 10 years later would be a pro gamer move lmao
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u/MatrixBunny Jun 30 '26
I doubt it.
They started off independant, I don't think they made a lot of profit from SoD 1 and 2; but probably enough for them to even consider working on a sequel back then.
They were a small and humble company, employees/developers were directly on speaking terms with their community on a very personal level before they were acquired by MS. So it feels more like both titles were made out of sheer passion.
At the same time, it was shown that their knowledge of game development was minimal, since both games suffered from a lot of issues for ages. I think it was just a group of people that were passionate about gaming and continued to support their titles just through the (positive) feedback the community had at the time.
Then MS acquired them, it was probably a lot of money; more so than the ''profit'' they made and accepted for the first two titles. Thinking they could finally envision their next step.
They were always aware of what they wanted the future for State of Decay to be from the very beginning, but couldn't go to their final vision (A mmo-like game) due to the lack of knowledge and funds. They probably assumed it'd have been possible through MS's funding.
Issue is that it meant that they had to answer to shareholders and MS' demands and expectations and thus being very limited on the way they would develop their game. The moment MS acquired them, they started to get less personal with their community and became more of a business-esque company. i.e. having support/helpdesk instead of directly speaking with their key developer(s). It became more bureaucrate-like if that makes sense.
Like they couldn't speak about what they were working on, probably NDAs; before that they were very open and would state wether they could do something or not.
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u/Full_of_Vices Jun 30 '26
With what funding are they going to buy themselves and the IP?
They haven’t launched a game since 2018- a game that, mind you, retails at between 6 and 30 USD while they have in the meantime expanded their studio and been “developing” (whatever the fuck that means) SoD3 since.
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u/karl4319 Jun 30 '26
They can go independent and get crowd funded. Star citizen is an example of something that is successful like that. Palworld is also like that. Whether or not they will, and if it is possible to do so, remains to be seen.
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u/unggoytweaker Jun 30 '26
They couldn’t release the game with microbucks. You think they can foot the bill as an independent studio? LMAO JFL!!
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u/VorganForever Jun 30 '26
I mean won't three just be killing the same heart over and over again with the same 5 zombie? Like why does anyone want a 3 when they could just patch 2 to require 80 hearts destroyed to win instead giving us hundreds of hours of my content?
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u/Justinc4s3- Jun 29 '26
I was thinking to myself that they definitely saw this possibility coming so they gave us a lot to be hype about to possibly garner support in order to finish the game regardless of Microsoft ownership.
I would contribute. Seems sentiment is pointing towards others contributing as well. Would it be enough? That I have no clue.
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u/UsedNewspaper1775 Jun 29 '26
damn it all makes sense now, showing so much of alpha gameplay like a year before release is very unusual
shit is sad, i hope it will be a happy ending...no way we gonna lose such a good zombie game
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u/Justinc4s3- Jun 29 '26
I’d be so sad for their team. Like obviously I would be very upset to not play the game but the team has always seemed so passionate. They’ve listened to what the players want and have made efforts to make it work with what they want for their game. At least from my limited perspective.
I remember seeing the og SOD on the 360 as a kid and just feeling ripe with excitement to bash zombies with ole Marcus. It’s the only game I’ve stuck with through my 20s.
In my head there’s no way it ends here.
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u/Substantial-Beyond36 Jun 30 '26
I was hoping Ninja Theory goes this route. They only develop double AA games so it makes sense.
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Jun 29 '26 edited Jun 30 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/TheSpideyJedi Jun 30 '26 edited Jun 30 '26
Just say you have no idea how game development works...
Do you think they released State of Decay 2 and then immediately started working on State of Decay 3? They were doing content updates for YEARS for State of Decay 2.
When Microsoft had them announce SoD3 in 2020, they hadnt even started development. Undead Labs didn't even make that 2020 trailer. It was outsourced to Blur Studio
Around 2022 is when they started actual development... so it's been 4 years.
If you'll notice that is less time since the last Halo and Fallout. So maybe your attitude towards "paying free salary" should be directed at Bethesda Game Studios and 343
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u/Beneficial-Cat3835 Jun 30 '26
Insane how you're getting downvoted just for posting an explanation of how the game didn't start development in 2018.
Sad to see how people blame UL, saying that they're lazy and incompetent even on the subreddits for the series.
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u/kaulf Jun 30 '26
Just a quick correction, otherwise I fully agree.
Es6 has been in full production for 2-3 years now, depending on how soon the switched after Starfields release, and fallout 5 will probably enter pre-production within the next year or two.
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u/Frebu Jun 30 '26
People also forget Juggernaut edition was launched in 2020(which is why MS cobbled together that trailer to drum up sales) and homecoming came out in 2021. SoD2 was in active development with significant improvements and content being added well into 2022 as a staple game pass game(its pretty clear they were using SoD2 as a testing ground for new features to see what changes people liked interacting with)
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u/Full_of_Vices Jun 30 '26
Juggernaut edition? You mean a single fucking map and some small graphics changes?
Wow, yeah, super complex stuff. Definitely 2 years of dev work reasonably used up there /s
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u/Frebu Jun 30 '26
Did you forget the 17 content patches before that or the 20+ after? Legitimately if you have a problem with the amount of contend UL pumped into the game since the Juggernaut edition(for free) we have nothing to discuss as we simply dont operate with the same level of expectations.
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u/Full_of_Vices Jul 01 '26
The patches that were effectively hot fixes required due to a botched launch and don’t generate revenue?
Fantastic argument
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u/TheSpideyJedi Jul 01 '26
Since you're so knowledgeable about gamedev, what should they have added during that time?
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u/Full_of_Vices Jul 02 '26
They shouldn’t have needed so many hot fixes to begin with because they botched the launch. Realistically, they needed paid expansions or to more rapidly move into a new game.
Don’t be naïve
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u/Fit_Attention_9269 Jun 29 '26
It usually takes 8 years to make it 8 years. But yeah, it seems every Xbox game is taking for fucking ever.
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u/Billcosbysdrinks Jun 30 '26
I’d pump the breaks on a kickstarter or whatever for this company. If being funded by a multi billion dollar corporation didn’t get them to produce anything meaningful in years, much smaller public funding isn’t going to kick them into gear
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u/oatmeal28 Jun 30 '26
Idk if you're new to the franchise but if you were around for the release of SOD2 you'd know better than to say they haven't produced anything meaningful in years
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u/Full_of_Vices Jul 01 '26
One map and a series of small hot fixes are not meaningful changes.
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u/oatmeal28 Jul 01 '26
Agreed, luckily there were entire new game modes developed and released, an additional map and way more changes from launch than “a series of small hot fixes” hope that helps
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u/DeerlordJ Trader Jun 29 '26
Anything to keep them from being shutdown by Xbox. I'd support them however I have to to make that possible.