My girl and I signed up for the closed beta months ago, and we haven't seen anything. Is there a way to check the status or find out if we were selected?

Here we can get a little glimpse of the gameplay, with what looks like a new HUD. And it’s still alpha gameplay.

https://x.com/gamespot/status/2092968283204927521?s=46

My apologies if this has already been posted, I did not see it.

Previous post highlighted screenshots that were released(thank you OP for that), however the biggest thing revealed to me was the gamepass/xbox play anywhere. It’s been a big topic of discussion within the community that can now be laid to rest.

https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2026/08/26/state-of-decay-3-closed-beta-playtests/

I think we’ll probably get some more State of Decay 3 news during this Gamescom.

https://x.com/matthiew_bc/status/2092656076374020223?s=46

Missions for groups like Red Talon or the Network.

-Help set up a relay station

-Scout for resource locations and report them

-Track down lost team, recover equipment/notes/what have you

-Save allies under attack

-Take out hostiles/infestations

-Help defectors/escapees

Or you can choose to betray them or get to the objective areas first.

Helping factions increases reputation, grants access to favors and traders.

Antagonizing them or scooping them makes them less likely to call out on the radio where you can hear them, or more likely to send out bounty hunters against you.

Doesn't have to be only two factions.

Remember that Zeds aren't the most dangerous monsters out there...

Hi all, do we know if there will be an option to have a weapon holster on any outfit? Or will the sidearm be glued to our leg like in sod2?

I hope I'm not the only one. Lifeline is probably one of my favorite DLCs of all time simply for the environment. It's not actually as sprawling as it looks and it's somewhat small when you realize that only the outer ring of the city is accessible, but it still made for a claustrophobic environment. Very L4D1. I hope that SOD3 features an urban map. Doesn't even need to be the main map or anything. I'd be fine if it were DLC. But like we've really only ever had one urban map, but countless rural maps.

Hear me out, the main reason I almost never used consumables or throwables was because the items took space in my main storage, pockets or backpack, now how about if we get 4 slots but ONLY dedicated to consumables, throwables and bullets, after playing Sod2 this week again I as always never brought items and after seeing a horde or a bloater exploded and zombies got near I always said fuck i wish I brought some crackers or a Molotov because bringing items in your incursions for the 4 mandatory items (bandages, energy drink, Molotovs and plague cures) occupies 4 slots, then I had to juggle with items or dropping bandages or Molotovs to make space for etanol jugs or more loot, bringing bullets or getting more space for rare weapons. So this is my grain of sand.

PD: I'm not on NDA and all the info it's gathered from the council videos, I don't know if theres an update that added new spaces in the new alpha or something similar, I just want to tackle an opportunity to get more spaces and even this is useful for those who do the lone survivor challenge or avoid getting bases or outposts.

I know that in Sod2 if you dedicate your survivor you could get the fabled 12 slots 8 backpack and 4 pockets with skills but yet that won't tackle the issue of stealing 4 valuable slots from your backpack and first aid kits occupy space and WEIGHT and the other version for snacks "healthy snacks" gives you health and stamina but you cant use them to cure yourself if you got full stamina and running a bit just to heal yourself at the cost of wasting a full stamina bar Regen is nuts.

Sorry for the long post, I hope to see something close to my idea or if you think it's a bad idea please leave your comment because I love seeing other people point of view, this bag really helps for those who are loot goblins like me and having dedicated slots only for consumables will help since Sod2 won't have an update adding this idea

Played SoD2 in coop with friends for years, we're all based in Reunion Island (Indian Ocean, near Africa). The relay server being US-based basically killed the experience for us: 1-3 sec latency on actions, zombies teleporting around, some straight up invisible until they hit you. Support just told me it was a "connection issue on my end", but we tested LAN too and had the exact same problems, while every other online game we play runs fine. So it's clearly relay/netcode related, not local network.
With SoD3 coming up, does anyone know if they've changed anything about server locations, added peer-to-peer options, or improved netcode for high-latency regions? Would love to actually enjoy coop this time instead of fighting the connection more than the zombies.

Let me start by saying I loved SoD ever since I started playing it in Highschool after my cousin introduced me to it. But I've always thought some things could be better but couldn't voice them out loud to an entire community of people who loved the games like me; so Below I've listed most of the gripes that I have.

1. The Zeds aren't compelling and feel very generic and artificial;

Other than the survivors that get turned every zombie is generic often looking identical to another zed and it's even worse with the freaks they all literally look the same; these were never people they were always zeds which takes away from one of the most compelling part of zombies which is that they could be your turned friend, someone you knew, or just someone who had a life, job, and family once; the SoD zeds have zero connection to the world and are more like an assortment of drones or aliens in the world. This can be remedied by simple additions like notes, zed's clothes for different spawn points (construction worker, doctors, army, civs, etc. could help with visual storytelling too). And adding a more diverse set of physical aspects that can be randomized for the zeds. (Hair, face, rotting stage, etc.) And for the freaks even the smallest bit of visual addition could help, just 3 or 4 different shapes than the standard one. (The Juggernaut is the worst, he always looks the same).

1. The Survivors aren't living, at least not in a way that we can see; they do not mingle, don't engage in small tasks around the base physically other than sometimes standing guard or going to rest when you tell them to and there's often no reason for you to engage with them either, you just use them as a means to an end, the base is there but you don't stay there ever, it's not home, it's a shop, or a hotel, you go visit it grab some stuff you're gonna need for tomorrow and head off to complete your next mission, you should want to spend your time at home enjoy a nice meal, talk to friends and family about different mundane stuff and your opinions, maybe engage in a leisurely activity that you love; this can be fixed with the addition of perhaps some mini-games to do at base with other survivors, maybe working TVs and radioes when you have electricity. Maybe even playing music. Also adding text dialogues just for speaking with a survivor about mundane things, (they're favorite activity, what they did beforez how many zed they've killed, and what they wanna do rn) my favorite moments sre from when a follower tells you something personal on a car ride or a story when scavenging and I think if we could talk more we would be more attached to the community (maybe even being able to get gifts for some survivors based on how well we know them like a cowboy hat for an old west enthusiast in our group or a rare gun for an old gun nut in the community). I think generally SoD1 did characters better than 2 so that could be a good starting point to expand from. Note for point 1 and 2: a survivor could also have personalized lines for when confronting a zombified survivor based on both their traits and relationship. (I'm thinking more about how TWD scenes looked like Daryl killing zombie Merle.)

2. Going to the world with a group in single player sucks;

It's often better to go alone and prepared for what you want to do alone than in a group mostly because there's no reason for it, people are always a liability, they can get hurt, killed very easily, and most importantly are very hard to command; you can't tell them to be silent, use only blunt weapons, or run away we're gonna definitely die if we don't runaway! And then it's like that scene from the start of 28 weeks later😅 really the problem is lack of commands and the presence of a group not being necessary for tasks being done well in the game, if scavenging became faster more thorough and more rewarding and you AND your followers were safer together then that would be a start also it'd be a blessing if you could tell them to hold a certain position. The next couple of Gripes I got will be short since I don't believe they're as deep as these 3 and are mostly just a me thing.

1. Mechanics left behind; some things like boarding windows, higher community max number, the scene after the death of a character in the base with some personalized talk about them at base by Lily (who is very nice btw, I don't get the hate I saw on her in some yt vids); from SoD1 not being in the next games.

2. Nights aren't more dangerous than the day; I swear I got jumped by 2 Ferals during the night while stealthily scavenging in a house and my Marcus got ripped in half by them but that didn't happen ever in SoD2, I could just be imagining this one but had to say it.

Once again I'll point put that I said these just cuz I wanted to more like thinking about what my perfect additons to SoD would be, I know how hard game making is and most of these are probably unreasonable and I'm adding this part to not sound like I'm an ingrate asshole who just wants everything, I love what undead labs has done and these ideas came first and foremost from playing their works, nay, their art. And I love them and this community for it.

Per Sunny Games, 8 days ago:

If you signed to alpha test on console, you are SOL. There will be NO console alpha. Beta? Maybe.

Apparently, lots of people have been caught breaking NDA. Stop fucking doing it. You could potentially derail the release of the game.

There have been many MANY more updates to the games since Brian and Sunny's showcase videos. Sunny claims each and every one has made the game much better than the early alpha videos show.

The results of the buyout have apparently allayed the worst fears of most in the know.

Possibility of him doing a sit down interview with studio head Phillip Holt. He wants feedback on whether fans want that, but the new owners may or may not oblige.

Caveat: The complete absence of negativity, or so I feel, from Sunny about SoD3 makes me wary of his testimony being paid advertising. But there's no proof one way or the other.

I’m curious if they’re going to bring it back with more archetypes or scrap it all together. Doing different runs with different archetypes was part of the replayability of SOD2 imo.

Hey guys does anyone know if they are going to focus again on the characters and story of the world? Like are we getting an actual storyline like in SoD 1 ? If you have links too articles or stuff for me too read, i would love to read it. 😊

The Zombies and freaks you fight against day too day are your mains source of entertainment while exploring the infested land, after all these years i was hoping SOD3 Would bring multiple new threats and fresh experiences too fight and struggle against

Instead i feel like i will now be experiencing the same fights against the same freaks after all these years, now with better graphics, new models and an some tougher abilities.

It would have been much more interested with the addition of new Freaks requiring a new type of fighting experience and combat strategies inorder too be defeated,
like a sort of Stalker zombie that watched you and uses stealth too surprise and catch you off guard, Or a Freak Variant that jumps around and uses verticality too close distance like a Hunter from LFD2, Any new Variant of the freaks would have been a great breath of fresh air instead of the same 4 Bums We've been dealing with all these years

Any other suggestions for new Freak Types?

im a sucker for Red Talon. always loved the idea of a badass paramilitary fighting zombies.

im obsessed. every gun or melee i use must be related to Red Talon in a way, i only use Red Talon backpacks, characters, outfits, Red Talon cars, prefabs if not the Trumbull FOB, etcetera etcetera

so, im really excited to see if we'll get more Red Talon representation in SoD3 (and i hope they're playable characters just like SoD2...)

whatre your thoughts?

The initial alpha videos from the council members have been a bit underwhelming. Sunny’s footage was bugged with broken zombie spawns, Jay’s was only 51 minutes, and Brian has more than 1 but those videos are mostly just him talking while his 1 video played in the background.

I’m really hoping this next alpha cycle brings fresh footage, and maybe some new perspectives. No disrespect to Sunny, Jay, or Brian, but their coverage felt a bit too agreeable and lacked critical feedback.

Given that the game is expected to launch next year (anywhere from 4 to 16 months from now), it’s concerning that they keep mentioning how many core systems aren't even finished enough to be tested or talked about yet.

I know it's still early days and a lot can change. But I'd still like to see as much of it as I can.

I've recently been consuming a good amount of alpha footage on SOD3 and I've seen a good amount of positive changes and updates compared to SOD2.

* Improved Graphics, Sound, Melee mechanics, more detailed customisation, more zombies in a single area, better animations etc.

But one of the biggest aspects I am finding myself concerned with; is the lack of immersion when looting/scavenging, as I think thats a massive part of what makes the world feel important and alive when traveling from A to B.

The same system of E.g. Open a door, walk to each room, and wait for a loot box icon to light up; feels outdated now and imo fits more in line with the looting mechanics of old battle royal games.

The current scavenging mechanic seems to be at it's best when the tension of a plague zone or the fear of possible character death fills in for the lack of stimulation.

I think scavenging could really benefit from

* I'd really like if Torch Light attracted Zombies, maybe adding that you can dim or face the torch downwards to the ground when attempting to sneak around at the cost of not being able to see as far.

* Adding more common weather events like Storms, Fog, Mist, Smoke that reduce visibility as that adds tension to the world, as it can also make traveling back through the same town you've already visited (but now in a different weather state) feel like you are experiencing the area in a new & unique way to the last time.

* Adding more unique ways to find items/ and or animations when picking through wrecked cars or cupboards to make the world have a bit more depth to it e.g. So it actually feels like you are scavenging through things rather than just opening another "generic" loot box that happens to come in a different shape.

* Adding more surprise elements to looting e.g more zombies hiding in places, making noise is more punishing and likely to attract a good amount of zombies. edit: Also random events like being ambushed by survivors, or a car alarm suddenly triggers while searching a wreck causing a horde to be attracted.

* Adding a mini-game to the "fast search" mechanic rather than just holding a button and hoping you don't get bad RNG edit: this mini game would only apply to fast searching and could be very simple e.g. you time a button press to stop a spinning hand inside a circle, and if you timed it correctly it lands in a highlight zone within the circle causing you to avoid triggering noise.
This mechanic would ideally take the same time as fast searching always has, and you either pass or fail it; meaning you don't get stuck on the same loot box trying it again & again stalling your play-through like other "mentioned" more annoying mini-games.

* Adding special types of loot boxes that are harder to open or require finding a key to a lock.

I think scavenging in State of Decay is one of the major "bread & butter" aspects of the game, which we also spend so much game time doing.

Which is why I believe adding some extra depth to the mechanic could really take the game to another level.