Xbox is going through a crisis right now, having just announced a gigantic wave of layoffs that is affecting almost every studio that the company owns. For some, it's only layoffs, but Xbox has decided to part with some studios entirely, those being Ninja Theory, Compulsion Games, Double Fine, Arkane Lyon, and State of Decay 3 developer Undead Labs.

For the latter, it was revealed that Undead Labs has already been purchased by another company. Xbox CEO Asha Sharman revealed in a statement earlier today that Undead Labs has "entered terms to join new ownership", though the new owner of the studio has yet to be revealed, with the announcement allegedly set to happen later this summer.

State Of Decay 3 Could Be Skipping Game Pass Now

While that's good news for Undead Labs, which gets to avoid layoffs and continue working on State of Decay 3, it does throw up some rather interesting problems for Microsoft. For example, it's been claimed by Game File that part of the deal that saw Undead Labs taken off Microsoft's hands was for there to be no obligation for the title to launch on Xbox Game Pass.

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If you cast your mind back to Xbox's recent showcase, in which State of Decay 3 had a relatively lengthy gameplay trailer, almost every reveal was backed up with the statement that the game would launch on Game Pass. In fact, having gone back through the showcase, Xbox does actually promise you can play State of Decay 3 "day one with Game Pass."

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Of course, just because Undead Labs' new owner has no obligation to put it on Game Pass at launch doesn't mean it won't. Microsoft could probably make it happen if it wanted to, and arguably should if it wants people to take its showcases seriously in the future. Between this and Hellblade, it's difficult to trust anything Xbox has to show off anymore, and taking back a Game Pass promise probably won't help.

State of Decay 3 Like Follow Followed Survival Horror Systems Released 2027 ESRB m Developer(s) Undead Labs Publisher(s) Xbox Game Studios Engine Unreal Engine 5 Genre(s) Survival Horror Powered by Expand Collapse