Thanks to its unique blend of survival and base-building elements, and an open-world sandbox filled with zombies, State of Decay 2 was arguably way ahead of its time. Even nearly seven years after its original release, State of Decay 2 is still highly worth revisiting or experiencing for the first time.

Depending on how long it’s been since players last played State of Decay 2, there may have been a handful of updates released in the time since, offering new content and improvements to the game for players to experience. By now, State of Decay 2 has received its final update, as Undead Labs is focusing on the upcoming sequel, State of Decay 3. So, whether players want to return to experience some of the previous updates for the game, or to prepare for the next entry in the franchise, right now is arguably the best time to play State of Decay 2.

State of Decay 3 Wishlist
State of Decay 3 Feature Wish List

State of Decay 3 has a lot of options ahead of it in terms of gameplay mechanics and can thrive with a mixture of old and new features.

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Why Now Is the Perfect Time to Jump Back Into State of Decay 2

Experiencing State of Decay 2’s Biggest Post-Launch Updates

  • New weapons, cosmetics, Bounties, maps, achievements, and Survivor Traits.
  • Lethal difficulty mode and customizable difficulty sliders.
  • All previously time-exclusive Event and Seasonal content is now permanently available.
  • Curveball modifiers.
  • Plague Heart Infestations and Sieges.
  • Forever Communities allows players to continue a playthrough endlessly.
  • Optimization for Xbox Series X/S.
  • Remastered graphics.
  • Various QoL improvements and bug fixes.

Aside from the massive amount of QoL improvements that have been added throughout the past years, some of the most notable features from State of Decay 2’s latest updates are the changes to Plague Hearts, the new Curveball modifiers, and the difficulty changes. Given how big some of these changes are, returning players might want to start a new playthrough to experience these new features at a guided pace, rather than resuming an in-progress playthrough and being overwhelmed by them.

For returning players, existing Survivors and Legacy Boons in State of Decay 2 can be accessed on subsequent playthroughs, offering a form of New Game+, though players can always start a fresh playthrough from scratch without these features.

Instead of Plague Hearts being dormant objectives for players to put off until the endgame, they now slowly claim more and more territory, until eventually triggering Plague-Infested sieges on the player’s Community. Meanwhile, the new Curveball modifiers in State of Decay 2 periodically trigger buffs, like increased chance of finding particular loot/resources, or debuffs, such as increased detection range for special infected. These features go hand in hand with making the game feel much more dynamic, providing quite a bit of variation between playthroughs that overall improves the game’s replayability.

Prepare for the Upcoming State of Decay 3 with a Fresh Playthrough of State of Decay 2

Another great reason to return to State of Decay 2 for a new playthrough in 2025 is to prepare for the upcoming sequel, whether it be to refresh on the series' mechanics and gameplay loop or to get a better grasp of State of Decay 3’s improvements over its predecessors and how it evolves the franchise’s shared universe. Much like how State of Decay 2 is a continuation of the original game’s story, it’s safe to assume that the upcoming third entry in the franchise will be yet another sequential chapter of the ongoing zombie apocalypse, with some direct tie-ins for longtime franchise fans to recognize.

There’s currently no exact release date set for State of Decay 3, though it is anticipated to release sometime in early 2026.

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State of Decay 2 Tag Page Cover Art
6 /10

State of Decay 2
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Action
Survival Horror
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Systems
PC-1 Xbox-1
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Top Critic Avg: 69 /100 Critics Rec: 31%
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Released
May 22, 2018
ESRB
M For Mature 17+ due to Blood and Gore, Drug Reference, Intense Violence, Strong Language
Developer(s)
Undead Labs
Publisher(s)
Microsoft Game Studios
Engine
Unreal Engine 4
Multiplayer
Online Multiplayer
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WHERE TO PLAY

SUBSCRIPTION
DIGITAL
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Genre(s)
Action, Survival Horror