State of Decay is an open sandbox world that develops in real-time, dynamically generating content based on your actions, the choices you make, and the ever-increasing zombie threat. Decide where you’d like to set up a fortified safe haven for you and other survivors you’ve rescued, then form raiding parties to gather resources and create supply chains. Use the materials you’ve gathered to develop your community as you see fit, but be careful — resources will deplete as you pillage areas, and zombies are attracted to noise and activity. Take up the offensive by assaulting hordes before they reach your settlement, or focus on improving your defenses against the massed zombie attacks. Every choice and every action matter in this fully simulated, evolving world.

What if society came screeching to a halt? What if all our rules and laws no longer mattered? State of Decay brings these questions to life in a very real way. It’s not just about combat; it’s about doing what you must do to stay alive. Food, water, shelter, and ammo — you’ll need them all. Taking you beyond the initial panic, and beyond the first weeks of the crisis, State of Decay is the embodiment of the “What if?” zombie apocalypse scenario.

That’s right. May 30. $6.99. If all goes well this week, you’ll be playing Lifeline (and the accompanying free Title Update, featuring Rucks in Trucks) by this weekend. If all goes well, this may be the first time in gaming history that a game was released BEFORE the official public target. It’s a long story, best told over copious quantities of frosty beverages, but the short version is that both the Undead Labs team and the crew at Microsoft has been burning the midnight oil to make this happen before State of Decay celebrates its first birthday.

We are now in final certification. (If you’re really into learning How Things Work, check out this link from a year ago where we explain what that means.) If you believe that good wishes and good thoughts count for anything, please send some our way to help ensure we hit our target release date. As always, your support is everything to us.

Keep an eye on our Twitter feed, our Facebook page, or our forum, as we celebrate the launch with contests and games. (And if you’ve got a thriving website or YouTube channel, and you know you can get at least a “first look” review posted before the weekend, email me*!