The Truth Behind the Trailer
When State of Decay 3 was announced in 2020, fans were intrigued by the trailer featuring a zombified deer. Many expected this meant the game would introduce undead wildlife, a significant shift from previous titles that omitted animals entirely. However, recent revelations from Undead Labs clarify that the trailer did not represent an actual game or team.
In an interview with YouTuber Sunny Games, Philip Holt from Undead Labs disclosed that at the time of the trailer's creation, "there really wasn't a game or a game team" in place. He noted that the project was still in its infancy, with “the game was in a Word document.” This means the striking visuals of the trailer were purely conceptual.
The trailer, produced in collaboration with visual effects firm Blur, served as a representation of the studio's ideas and aspirations. Holt emphasized, "As we've had a chance to build a team and get going on the game, some of those elements I think are going to persist in the game that we deliver and some of those things are just, like, we're not doing zombie animals."
Despite the excitement generated by the trailer and the fascination with the zombie deer, Holt's comments underline a crucial point: the undead animals fans speculated about were never in development. This news highlights the disconnect between initial marketing and the actual progress of game development.
Interestingly, the announcement strategy also raises questions. Reports indicate that Undead Labs had not planned to reveal State of Decay 3 in 2020. Instead, the decision stemmed from Microsoft's request for trailers to accompany the launch of the Xbox Series X/S. A developer explained, “We didn’t want to announce the game because we didn’t even know what it was at that point.”