Undead Labs Goes Independent Amid Job Cuts Following Xbox Restructuring
- Undead Labs has become an independent, worker-owned studio after being part of Xbox.
- The company is laying off a “significant number” of employees during this transition.
- State of Decay 3 is still in development, targeting a closed beta by year-end.
Undead Labs, the studio behind the State of Decay franchise, has announced both positive and negative developments following a second round of job cuts within Xbox this year. The studio, which has been under Microsoft ownership since 2018, declared its independence and transition to a worker-owned model.
In a statement on its website, studio head Philip Holt expressed that “Independence brings us closer to our community and lets us focus on what matters most: making the best games we can and earning the continued support of the people who choose to spend their time with us.” However, the studio also reported on LinkedIn that the transition entails laying off a “significant number” of staff, which Holt acknowledged as a difficult decision.
“Unfortunately, today we are also saying goodbye to a significant number of our colleagues. It’s difficult to reach this moment knowing that not everyone who helped get us here gets to make the rest of the journey with us,” the studio stated. They lamented the frequency of similar announcements across the industry, asserting that those laid off are individuals they would hire again “in a heartbeat.”
Undead Labs was among the studios mentioned in Xbox’s restructuring plan announced earlier this summer. Microsoft had indicated that it had found a buyer for Undead Labs but did not disclose who it was. The same situation was noted regarding Ninja Theory, another studio previously owned by Microsoft, which is now facing potential closure after deals fell through.
Despite the organizational changes, progress on State of Decay 3 continues, with the studio aiming for a closed beta release before the end of the year and setting a target release date of 2027. Furthermore, Xbox Studios head Matt Booty confirmed in his message about the restructuring that State of Decay 3 will remain a Game Pass title, addressing prior concerns about the game’s availability post-separation.
Booty also mentioned that State of Decay 3 has secured a new publisher, details of which have yet to be made public. The game is in development for PC, PlayStation, and Xbox.
Undead Labs’ split from Xbox concludes a 15-year partnership, as Xbox initially published the original State of Decay in 2013 and acquired the studio in 2018 shortly after the launch of State of Decay 2.
News Courtesy of Eurogamer
