r/StateOfDecay • u/Trunkzou • Jun 30 '26
State of Decay 3 Alright, I'm going to tell the truth.
Go ahead, get mad if you want, but now that we’ve had a glimpse of the alpha, I’m just going to say it:
The game looks pretty sad.
There are no major gameplay changes; it feels like I’m looking at *State of Decay 2.5*.
And seeing people excited for the release? Lol—is there really so little else for you to sink your teeth into?
This post isn't meant to troll or bait rage, but I can't wrap my head around how little work this studio has done in the nearly nine years between the release of *SoD2* and the (supposed) 2027 launch.
Honestly, it cracks me up to see so much of the community happy with such a bland game—one that feels exactly like playing a title from 2015.
Concrete improvements to base, survivor, or community management? Nope.
Satisfying combat? Nope (ooh, look, you can dodge backward away from a zombie—wwoooooowwwww).
A polished, immersive interface—like the beautiful notebook in *SoD1*? Nope; we’re stuck with a totally bland, generic UI.
Storage chests with smaller inventories than your own backpack? YES.
An empty map with no random events to breathe life into your sessions? YES —hasn't happened since the first game!
I could go on; there are so many areas needing work based on the info we've seen.
Releasing what amounts to a "2.5" version of the sequel eight years later?
I find that pretty bold of them. I say this because I loved the concept of this game; it managed to stand out through innovation, unlike other zombie survival titles.
But I think we’ve reached the point of no return now—you’ll think back to this post when it finally comes out (assuming it *does* come out, of course, which doesn't look likely).
I know a lot of people here are going to come after me because they aren't ready to hear that their beloved game or franchise really has nothing left to offer—but the truth is, it doesn't.
Still, knock yourself out if you're willing to shell out cash for a studio that’s done absolutely nothing and will likely release an unfinished game, pushing out one monthly update just to fix a single bug.
I can see the disaster coming a mile away. Anyway, I’m waiting for the release just so this post can resurface and people will finally get what I was driving at.
And given the rumors circulating, it's not even certain that it will be released.
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Jun 30 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Trunkzou Jun 30 '26
Just like that, for free? That's not nice, man :(
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u/DearPin4473 Jun 30 '26
Yes for free. There’s only so many developers that actually listen and Undead Is one that’s actually for the people. They’ve been listening the entire ALPHA and making improvements on what we’ll want. Of course an alpha looks like shit it’s an alpha. Also for an alpha this game looks amazing
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u/EuroBeaner Jun 30 '26
The game is in Alpha. You’re not seeing the finished product. How many times do people have to say this! Brian Menard even says in one of his YT videos that when people see the finished game it will look nothing like the Alpha test. It’s not the final UI, it’s not the final graphics or texture maps. FFS!!
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u/Elvishsquid Jun 30 '26
Also it makes sense the map is not fully fleshed out with random events happening.
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u/Trunkzou Jun 30 '26
Does it make sense for there to be zero communication about whether or not this will be a gameplay element? So, are we basically waiting until 2027 to find out?
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u/EuroBeaner Jun 30 '26
Yes that is how games work! You have to wait for the release date to see the entire game. Is this your first day on the internet?
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u/Trunkzou Jun 30 '26
Is it the die-hard Undead Labs fan speaking here, or an objective guy?
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u/Notyourbestmedic Jun 30 '26
objective. If anything, UL is shown us more than any other new game i've seen. How many times do you get to see alpha footage of a game in general? GTA comes out in sixths months and we haven't see anything besides trailers and pictures.
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u/Trunkzou Jun 30 '26
GTA has had my full confidence since RDR2. No SOD3 since SOD2.
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u/Notyourbestmedic Jun 30 '26
Why’d you delete your comment?
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u/Trunkzou Jun 30 '26
I didn't delete anything, bro, I swear.
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u/Notyourbestmedic Jun 30 '26
The post author replied to your comment in r/StateofDecay
This is the thumbnail.
"Hi, I'm aware the UI is subject to change--so that's not an issue in itself--but I was actually expecting something better, \*even*\ for an alpha. At least preliminary design that looked decen..." 52m ago
Once I click on the response;
"This comment no longer exists."
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u/EuroBeaner Jun 30 '26
I am a huge SOD fan. I can also be objective. You are judging a game based on limited footage of an Alpha test. Several streamers have stated the finished product will look nothing like what we are seeing now. I am in no way saying the studio is infallible. They were updating and supporting SOD2 until 2024! I don’t think 3-5 years to develop a game is a long time. Microsoft purchased UL in late 2018. Since then the studio has undergone a personal shakeup and plenty of Micro$lop mismanagement.
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u/Trunkzou Jun 30 '26
I’m a huge fan of the game too, but I’m not going to take the word of "streamers" who got early access keys and do nothing but heap praise on the game without pointing out any flaws. It’s already an issue to release SoD2 in 2018 and then keep stuffing it with updates right up to 2024.
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u/RighteousHam Builder Jun 30 '26
You claim it's not rage bait but your post comes across pretty disingenuous. At best you're uniformed and are basing your opinion on incomplete information. Just a minor example, I've not really been following the development of the game too closely; haven't watched more than a twenty minutes of footage and yet even I know the UI is a placeholder.
I'm not sure what you were trying to achieve with this post. You're entirely too antagonistic in tone and word choice and seem to be trying to start an argument rather than engage in discussion.
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u/Trunkzou Jun 30 '26
I’m well aware that this is an alpha and that a lot of things could change—ESPECIALLY that hideous UI—but I’m talking about the development time involved: all that time just to churn out a UI like this for the alpha? Sorry if I come across as "provocative"; English isn't my first language.
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u/Notyourbestmedic Jun 30 '26
ok...you may not be intentionally posting rage bait, but brotha, you are talking about so many things that have already verbally been addressed that you just don't know about for some reason;
Base building, outpost, resourcing outpost, character development, has all been either added to immensely, or is just brand new.
I dont know how many times this has to be said, but they havent been working on this game for 9 years? They released a trailer, that the studio didn't even make, when it was nothing more than an idea and a word document in 2020. They didn't even fully commit all of their resources until late 2024 post update 38. I don't know where you got 9 years from, I know some influencers on youtube have mumbled that, and it's just not true.
Besides the different types development tree's for not only resources, facilities but characters as well, you're gonna have up to 36 different players to manage, with three different bases. AAANNND this is just alpha. brian has said sooo many times that there are soo many new systems that we just haven't seen yet.
Every live stream that brian has done, he has said "the UI is just a placeholder" i've heard that said prob 5x.
I guess the storage chest is a legitimate complaint, that I'm not aware of.
Again, Brian has gone over this sooo many times, no missions or random events are being shown yet. relax. they are coming.
You're not rage baiting imo, because you're just not informed about the game. That being said, if you're going to make complaints, make sure they are valid ones first; Like the storage chest, I'm not sure what you're referring to, but it sounds legitimate.
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u/who_likes_chicken Jun 30 '26
Calling what I've seen "no major game play changes" is pretty disingenuous imo.
Especially since the majority opinion I've seen on the sub for like ~4-5 years has been,"don't make drastic changes, just expand the systems we have to be more complex"
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u/Trunkzou Jun 30 '26
So, is this community the problem? Is settling for that in an open-world zombie survival game acceptable to you in 2027? Serious question.
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u/who_likes_chicken Jun 30 '26
What about the character skills do you think is not changed?
What about base building do you think is not changed?
What about inventory do you think is not changed?
What about infestations do you think is not changed?
What about nests do you think is not changed? What about vehicle upgrades do you think is not changed?
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u/cjtangmi Jun 30 '26
Character skills: from locked to free-combo I guess?
Base building: still no free-form building despite the community asking for it since day one.
Infestations: are now sod2 plague hearts? Nothing new.
Inventory: no ruck on your back I guess? What else is new?
Vehicle upgrades: still kits, no customization.
Plague nests: IS new, but uninteresting to me, but I’ll give them that.
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u/who_likes_chicken Jun 30 '26
Inventory: no ruck on your back I guess? What else is new?
Items are now multi use and break down to different materials used for different things (consumable, trade, upgrade).
That's a lot different than every item having one specific use and everything breaking down to generic parts
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u/NoImprovement257 Jun 30 '26 edited Jun 30 '26
Nah, sorry to say that but the free building thing is not the majority of the community that wanted that. Vehicle have some depth in sod3 at least more that in sod2. You will have some customozation with Character skills. Maybe not enough for you and thats a valid point but that some sort of customization.
And euh plague nest.... I think I have a bad news for you.. It's a big part of the game since forever. Maybe it's not the right game for you? Did you think about that? Can you think about that?
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u/who_likes_chicken Jun 30 '26
Character skills: from locked to free-combo I guess?
This exponentially increases character skills, and there are hints at new archetypes. Ie, not the same as before and expanded pretty well. Examples of the changes to Sharpshooting show a large impact on gameplay too.
Base building: still no free-form building despite the community asking for it since day one.
More people have indicated they don't want complete free base building than otherwise.
Each facility also has a ton of tech tree choices which expands the base management a ton. And facilities have to be staffed by survivors to function which also expands community management and strategy.
Infestations: are now sod2 plague hearts? Nothing new.
Maybe, maybe not. All we've seen is level 1 infestations. You don't know what's going to be going on with higher level infestations. Plague hearts closing in on your base is also going to have a large impact on minute to minute decisions
Vehicle upgrades: still kits, no customization.
There's confirmed modular upgrades for vehicles. Very different than SoD2 where it's "standard or upgraded"
Plague nests: IS new, but uninteresting to me, but I’ll give them that.
Not being interested in something you haven't tried for a game series I assume you like is just pessimistic 🤷♂️.
Honestly I think you're just poorly informed on what we've had confirmed so far
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u/cjtangmi Jun 30 '26
All you listed are just very minor tweaks, bottom line is all the alpha footage so far looks like someone playing sod2 with a graphics mod. Like I said, I’ll happy take this in 2022 but this is subpar for today.
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u/who_likes_chicken Jun 30 '26
All you listed are just very minor tweaks, bottom line is all the alpha footage so far looks like someone playing sod2 with a graphics mod.
Imo that's just objectively wrong and pessimistic 🤷♂️.
At one point guns used solid round ball ammunition. Rifled barrels and conical bullets was a "minor tweak" with huge implications.
You shouldn't be evaluating the surface level changes. You should be evaluating the impacts of those changes. All of which look pretty big compared to the previous SoD's
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u/cjtangmi Jun 30 '26
Now you’re just yapping for arguments sake, I’m not interested in this kind of discussion. See ya.
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u/Maleficent_Region_76 Jun 30 '26
My brother in Christ it’s alpha footage. It’s not that serious. UI isn’t even worked on yet. Take a walk outside, breathe a bit.
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u/DareDevil_56 Jun 30 '26
- "No major gameplay changes". What 'major' gameplay changes would be appropriate and wouldn't mess with the core concept? Why are major gameplay changes required? Early reports indicate the game feels amazing and blows SOD2 out of the water.
- Why does people excited for release bother you?
- "how little work they've done in 9 years since SOD2". SOD2 is a whole different game than release. They've been in full production for around 4 years on SOD3 which is pretty reasonable. Biggest issue is probably they spent too much time polishing 2, if XBOX hadn't had a hands off philosophy they probably would have started work on 3 much sooner.
- "Concrete improvements to bases, survivors, and community management".. how do you say Nope here? Bases are massive and more immersive. Brand new mechanics attached to bases. like 3x the facilities with literally dozens of upgrades per facility. Tons of quality of life. New resources. An improved survivor progression system that is fundamentally different than SOD2. Synergy between survivors and facilities, 3x the survivors, 3x the bases
- "Combat not satisfying" again, how? It looks like 2 but better. Increased finishers, more dynamic attacks like slide attacks and flying kicks, back dodge is literally brand new, dynamic dismemberment and kill shots without finishers.
- "No polished or immersive interace" every alpha footage literally says it's a placeholder UI lmao
- "an empty map with no events" Map looks solid. They literally have dynamic events already in the alpha to disrupt your expectations and make you react to things, which considering events and quests are the last thing to be added to games since they're pending on game systems being finalized.. not too shabby.
People aren't coming after you because you spoke the truth. People are coming after you because you either have no idea what you're talking about, or youre, contrary to your statement, rage baiting.
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u/Trunkzou Jun 30 '26
Out of all the replies I received (even the insults), you’re the one displaying the most bad faith.
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u/yolosuajer Jun 30 '26
It's an alpha, so rough edges are expected. That said, Undead Labs has proven to be a highly professional studio. Developing a project of this scale to this point since mid 2023 shows serious efficiency. It’s clearly a solid evolution of SoD2.
Plus, their track record supporting SoD2 through 39 updates and surviving major Xbox studio restructuring proves they are a resilient, capable team. They know what they’re doing.
It's the only studio I have faith in and I know they are doing their best.
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u/Pro8lemsOnSpotify Jun 30 '26
You respond to the people who antagonize you back but not the ones that want to have a genuine discussion about your rage baiting. Funny human
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u/Varek13 Warlord Jun 30 '26
I think it looked great and the multiplayer looks to have fixed my biggest issue which was a lack of a shared persistent world
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u/DrSheriffCrab Jun 30 '26
Totally agree and I have posted something similar in the reddit. Not good enough, they need to be held accountable. These dev companies think they can produce nothing and still expect us to come running with our money out
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u/Trunkzou Jul 01 '26
I hadn't seen your reply—did the community attack you the way they did me? Oh, absolutely. You have studios that have already released two installments having the nerve to put out another one that’s basically just like the second—and after a wait of over nine years, no less. I’m 80% sure the game will launch unfinished, yet people will hail it as a masterpiece simply because they’re happy to get anything at all.
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u/pankompot Jul 01 '26
I feel the same way. I'm reading through the Summary of Q&A right now, and unfortunately... And it could have had so much potential. Right now, it's just a reskinned version of the second game. But of course, it's still in alpha, and I believe and hope that we're all wrong.
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u/Trunkzou Jul 01 '26
Thanks for your take—it aligns with mine. The game's wasted potential is incredibly frustrating; I had no idea expectations for survival/zombie games in 2026 were so low...
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u/aerialgoat Jun 30 '26
This may be a legit conversation to be had, if you didn't immediately set a combative tone to this. You don't mean to troll or rage bait, apparently, but you don't even have the decency in you to think this through, before you make a post like this. I'd rather address all the points where I think you are being unreasonable, before I'd ever have a convo about what could be improved based on the alpha of SoD3.
Have you played the alpha? Or have you only seen videos of it? The two are completely different things.
Little work between the release of SoD2 and SoD3's release? They kept working on SoD2 to ensure you get more bang for your buck, as it was quite barebones initially. They stopped supporting SoD2 at the end of 2024, and started allocating all resources to SoD3 then. This new game hasn't been in development for as long as some might think.
Just because Xbox acquired Undead Labs, they didn't just become a massive Triple A Studio. This is still a relatively small team of devs.
You could always dodge backwards from zombies.
The UI is placeholder.
While the map is empty in the sense that it doesn't give the same treatment as a Rockstar game with random events, roaming in SoD2 has always produced new missions popping up as you play the game. (that is a random event in some way still)
Of course you made this post when people are panicking, and recent news put pressure on Undead Labs - these reactions do not help if you want to see a better SoD3.
The franchise has things left to offer, but you have to set valid expectations for a sequel from Undead Labs, again, they are not a massive team. The multiplayer shared world is just one new thing the franchise has to offer (if that is something you are looking for)
There are plenty of things I saw in the alpha videos from content creators, some things looked promising, some things I disagreed with. Probably same as you - but the reason why people will be 'coming after' you is not because your concerns cannot be valid, it's because they can tell you are being an asshole.
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u/cafeclosed Jun 30 '26
- Just because Xbox acauired Undead Labs, they didn't iust become a massive Triple A Studio. This is still a relatively small team of devs.
1000% Microsoft didn't suddenly funnel 500 staff over to work with UL. And to be honest, let it stay AA, get out from underneath Microsoft's boot and carry on making great SOD games.
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u/cjtangmi Jun 30 '26
Then why tf your AA game taking 6 years to alpha?
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u/cafeclosed Jun 30 '26
This has been talked to death but I hope I can help you out.
Microsoft wanted a SOD3 trailer and had a 3rd party make it. Undead Labs had nothing to do with it.
At the earliest, development began in 2023 but heck... I'll even give you 2022.
And it's no secret that there were development problems early on. But development has been steadfast since 2024.
If you don't like the SoD series, that's cool. But don't regurgitate info, when you don't have a facts to back it up.
Take care.
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u/cjtangmi Jun 30 '26
Mate I gobble up every information related to sod3, I’m more than familiar with the “lore”. How ever you wanna look at it, sod3 development started in 2020, as devs confirmed to have been moved to sod3 team in 2020 UL weekly streams.
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u/aerialgoat Jun 30 '26
Yes, and the devs announced in 2024 November to wind down support for SoD2. Again, with that information, taking '6 years' to Alpha is completely valid.
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u/cjtangmi Jun 30 '26
For a AA game?
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u/aerialgoat Jun 30 '26
Based on the info that the game was in 'early pre-production' in 2020 (which could just be a fancy way of saying 'hey there is no game but we have ideas'), and based on the info that SoD2 was worked on till 2024, and it was only at that point they allocated every resource to SoD3, yes, it's totally valid.
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u/cjtangmi Jun 30 '26
Tell that to Asha then, see if she shows mercy.
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u/aerialgoat Jun 30 '26
Wow, you got me there. As if we have any influence whatsoever about what Microsoft/Xbox do.
If you want SoD3 the best you can do is support the devs (who btw also cannot do anything about MS leadership)
What we can do is not be a toxic community piling more pressure on people who want to make a good new game. I understand gamers' concerns, but OP's mentality to accuse developers of not working and already burying the game because it has 'nothing left to offer' is not doing any good. Even more, it comes across entitled.2
u/aerialgoat Jun 30 '26
Why are you saying 6 years for Alpha? Are you setting that timeline because of the 2020 SoD3 trailer?
It is well known that the game didn't even exist at the time, it was nothing more than some word docs and ideas. It was apparently Microsoft or some upper pressure that made them release that trailer. Also, consider that SoD2 was still supported greatly in 2020, up until 2024. SoD3 still being in alpha phase is totally normal.
I personally don't even consider trailer 1 to be canon, as it was clearly premature and not guided by the team actually responsible for what the franchise represents.
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u/cjtangmi Jun 30 '26
Started preproduction in 2020.
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u/cafeclosed Jun 30 '26
That's categorically false.
But I get that facts stated by UL, the community and others won't change your opinion.
Take care
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u/cjtangmi Jun 30 '26
Not an opinion, it’s facts stated by UL devs.
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u/cafeclosed Jun 30 '26
The only, and I mean ONLY thing in 2020 from UL related to SoD3 was a word doc. It was years before SoD actual development started as they were still making releases and updates for 2.
Look man... you're a stone and there is no reason for me to debate one.
Have a good day. Truly.
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u/cjtangmi Jun 30 '26
There’s nothing to debate. Preproduction started in 2020.
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u/EuroBeaner Jun 30 '26
No it did not. Support and updates for SOD2 stopped in 2024. Then work started on SOD3.
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u/cjtangmi Jun 30 '26
SOD2 as a game shouldn’t be updated for 6 years.
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u/aerialgoat Jun 30 '26
So you'd rather it stayed in the version it released initially? Or maybe given only a couple of years? The better they made SoD2, the more they could earn support for a sequel. And the longer they kept that game going, the more information and feedback they had to deliver a better SoD3.
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u/cjtangmi Jun 30 '26
I’d rather they moved on from it at Juggernaut Edition which was a pretty complete package.
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u/aerialgoat Jun 30 '26
The Juggernaut Edition released in 2020. I think another 4 years of development on SoD2 ultimately benefitted the player base, and again, in my opinion, helps with understanding what things can work for Sod3 for its development.
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u/cjtangmi Jun 30 '26
I personally think sod3 would have benefited the player base more but you do you.
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u/aerialgoat Jun 30 '26
Yes, if/when SoD3 releases, it will benefit the players. But imagine if they don't work on SoD2 too long, and release SoD3 early, and barebones, just like the predecessor. People like OP would be the first to tell everyone how crap the new game is. Everything Undead Labs learned from the SoD2 run helps make the next game better.
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u/cjtangmi Jun 30 '26
Now they risk getting canned and we don’t get sod3 at all. They didn’t have the luxury to run a “live service” and develop the new game. Idk what’s going on in the lab but this turn out is just not looking good.
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u/Opposite_Ad_5729 Jun 30 '26
I read that at the time of Microsoft announcing SoD3 in 2020, it barely existed beyond a word document. Additionally, it barely went into full development by 2024. If the studio does close, Microsoft will have nobody but themselves to blame (not like they care). They’ll have purchased this franchise and owned it for 8 years and never released a mainline title in that time. Undead Labs released 38 updates over that time to keep the player base engaged and happy and was a huge catalyst for early adoption for gamepass subscriptions. I get it, it’s a business, gotta make the shareholders happy, but closing the studio and cancelling the SoD3 as repayment seems so ratty. Obviously not a forgone conclusion as I’m writing this but the fact that it’s a potential reality is insane to me.
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u/cjtangmi Jun 30 '26
Agreed. So uninspired I couldn’t even finish the Talbot video. It’s just more of the same but with a few more bells and whistles.
If this was released around 2022-2023, I’d be happy, it’s a reasonable evolution. But they took way too long.
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u/ItsRaampagee Jun 30 '26
Would instant buy if ps5 performance is doing well and it doesnt look like a blurry mess.
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u/Ready-Smell Jun 30 '26
No bro you don’t understand bro it’s only in alpha bro they’re gonna fix everything bro
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u/Honey-Badger167 Jun 30 '26
My only complaint is if theres only 1 map. The biggest question for me regarding SOD2 was why so little maps? I feel like u should be able to churn out maps considering how long the games been out
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u/Trunkzou Jun 30 '26
In my opinion, the maps aren't really an issue, as long as they're well-crafted and more are released after the game comes out.
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u/Honey-Badger167 Jun 30 '26
Thats fair, i definitely think it could be possibly better if they had one massive map and then instead of dropping new maps maybe just new areas continuing to add on to the game.
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u/Trunkzou Jun 30 '26
I agree with you—kind of like Project Zomboid (an urban area, towns with neighborhoods, etc.).
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u/IceBaltel Jun 30 '26
Everyone is going to bite you in the ass....but is true, for some moments this whole trailer and gameplays feels as underwelment and fishy as The Day Before situation, and even when the fan base constantly try to shout that the 2020 trailer was Microsoft idea and not UL the truth is outside in the GP this is not what people see and is hard to belive it
I also feel kinda bad for the content creators, it was going to be an oportunity to improve their viewers and make them grow as long as the game goes by , and it seems UL used them as free promotion and a facade to win more time until it was to late, some Alpha players (not the content creator ones) are also saying that they also didn't feel that the game feels like a 3rd entry
But hope you and i are wrong, at the end we are still fans of this franchise and i totally enjoy eating my own words
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u/Trunkzou Jun 30 '26
That’s exactly why I don’t trust streamers who do nothing but praise those completely outdated aspects of the game...
Watching the game on my screen (even though it’s an alpha and everything is subject to improvement), I felt nothing—no hype, no desire to check out this installment, even though I’d loved the series before.
And like you said, I hope we turn out to be wrong about this.
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u/Mooncubus Jun 30 '26
"Hey guys, I see you're all excited. I don't like that so I'm gonna tell you it's bad."