Undead Labs, known for the State of Decay series, has become independent again. Earlier, as part of a large-scale Xbox restructuring, it was announced that the company would be sold to an unnamed third-party owner, but now it has been revealed that the studio itself was the buyer.
The transition of Undead Labs to independent status was announced by studio head Philip Holt on the official State of Decay website. According to him, independence will allow the team to focus on game development and closer interaction with the community.
Independence brings us closer to our community and allows us to focus on what matters most: creating the best games and maintaining the support of the people who choose to spend their time with us.
He also thanked Microsoft for years of cooperation and noted that the company has been part of the State of Decay story from the very beginning.
Regardless of which company takes on the publishing of State of Decay 3, the game will be available on Game Pass on day one.
The relationship between Undead Labs and Xbox began much earlier than the official acquisition. The first State of Decay was released in 2013 in collaboration with Xbox and was originally created as a project for Xbox Live Arcade. The game first appeared on Xbox 360, and its concept was linked to the Class3 project, which was intended to be the basis for the larger MMO Class4. Undead Labs founder Jeff Strain previously worked on MMOs such as World of Warcraft and Guild Wars.