State of Decay 3 Dev Undead Labs Hit With 'Significant' Layoffs - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 23 September 2026 / 2,063 Views
Undead Labs yesterday announced it had completed its separation from Xbox and is now an independent studio owned by employees.
The studio in a LinkedIn post revealed it had to layoff a "significant number" of employees now this it is independent.
"Today, we announced that Undead Labs is becoming an independent, employee-owned studio," reads the post from Undead Labs. "Our focus going forward is simple: making the best games we can and earning the continued support of the people who choose to spend their time with us.
"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.
"They are exceptionally talented developers who have poured years into the State of Decay franchise: solving hard problems, looking after one another, and helping shape both this game and this studio. Their work remains part of Undead Labs and part of State of Decay 3, regardless of where their careers take them next.
"There have been far too many announcements like this across the industry, and we hate adding to that list. These are people we'd hire again in a heartbeat, and we hope the industry takes notice.
To everyone leaving: thank you. We're proud of what we built together and grateful for everything you gave this studio, this game, and this community."
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can follow the author on Bluesky.
