The game features two relationship meters, the first determines if a survivor can be recruited, and the second dictates if they can be controlled. The player can interact with survivors outside of their group: trading with them, helping them or recruiting them. They can be obtained by scavenging or trading with NPCs. Part of the game is balancing the use of resources: food, medicine, ammo and construction materials. The player can choose from several locations to build a base, then reinforce and improve it with various facilities like watch towers, gardens, sleeping quarters, kitchens, workshops, medical bays, etc. The game world is 16 square kilometers, 8 square kilometers of which is playable. The player is in charge of a small group of survivors and can either follow the storyline or perform tasks that ensure their community's survival. State of Decay contains elements of third person combat and simulation (building base and outposts). Here the player character stands atop a tower and scouts for possible survival camps and places that may contain supplies. Gameplay State of Decay emphasizes utilizing existing resources, which are finite. Upcoming State of Decay 3 was announced at Xbox's 2020 Games Showcase and is currently in production. An updated version, State of Decay 2: Juggernaut Edition, launched on and overhauled the original game's graphics and added a new map. The game introduced cooperative multiplayer.

State of Decay 2 was announced at Xbox's E3 2016. A remastered version called the Year-One Survival Edition was released on Apfor Windows and Xbox One with mixed reviews.

A Windows version was released on September 20, 2013, via Steam's Early Access, with a release following on November 5, 2013. It was released for the Xbox 360 on June 5, 2013, and was met with positive reviews. The game combines elements of shooters, stealth, role-playing and strategy games and the game challenges players to survive by exploring, scavenging, and fighting the undead. It places emphasis on how the player's leaderships skills fare against an onslaught of problems, such as diminishing survival resources, group trust and morale, zombie extermination, base defenses, and people's lives. State of Decay is an action video game developed by Undead Labs and published by Microsoft Studios.

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