While Microsoft reportedly sold developer Undead Labs to a mystery buyer, the Washington-based studio is keeping its zombie survival game State of Decay 3 alive and well. And now, it plans to host another playtest sometime later this year.

In an August 26 Xbox Wire post, Undead Labs' community manager, Bruce Dugan, announced that the upcoming zombie survival sim will begin a closed beta playtest "before the end of 2026." An exact date for when this beta will start wasn't confirmed, but you can register for it now.

In the post, Undead Labs' creative director, Kevin Patzelt, said that the closed beta will open to "more players over time."

"This is our largest map ever, and with untethered multiplayer, we really need to take the opportunities to stress-test and fine-tune [this experience]," Patzelt said. "If you don't get access right away, rest assured there will be more opportunities throughout the year for players familiar and brand new to the series."

This closed beta, whenever it begins, comes after Undead Labs hosted an alpha test back in May. That alpha came with four-player co-op, new base-building and resource strategies, and plenty of combat. This beta will lean on what Undead Labs learned from the alpha, with Dugan highlighting key takeaways like "engaging combat against multiple freaks, the improvements to the world’s lighting, SFX, weather and overall visuals, cosmetic changes like varied clothing options and additions of glasses and beards, and smoother and more reactive character movement."

All of this comes just a couple of months after Microsoft began breaking up with a handful of the developers it acquired as part of its massive "reset" that saw several studios get sold, tons of employees get laid off, and some games get canceled.

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