State of Decay 3 Heads Into Closed Beta Amid Xbox Shake-Up

State of Decay 3 will begin a closed beta playtest before the end of 2026, with registration open now. The beta, building on May’s alpha, will stress-test a larger map with untethered multiplayer and improvements to combat, lighting, SFX, weather, visuals, and character movement, with access expanding to more players over time. The game, announced in 2020, is planned for a 2027 release on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S, amid Microsoft’s studio restructuring and sell-offs.