Undead Labs Buys Itself Out from Microsoft to Become Independent

The studio will continue developing the franchise outside of the Xbox structure.

Undead Labs, the studio known for the State of Decay series, has become independent once again. As part of a major Xbox restructuring, it was previously announced that the company would be sold to an unnamed third-party owner, but it has now been revealed that the studio itself was the buyer.

Undead Labs studio head Philip Holt announced the transition to independent status on the official State of Decay website. According to him, independence will allow the team to focus on game development and interact more closely with the community.

He also thanked Microsoft for years of collaboration and noted that the company has been part of the State of Decay story from the very beginning.

Regardless of which company handles the publication of State of Decay 3, the game will be available on Game Pass on day one.

The relationship between Undead Labs and Xbox began long before 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 tied to the Class3 project, which was intended to serve as the foundation for a larger MMO called Class4. Undead Labs founder Jeff Strain previously worked on MMOs such as World of Warcraft and Guild Wars.