State of Decay 3 dev says 2020 reveal trailer "was just a concept" and the game only existed in a Word document

It has been revealed that State of Decay 3’s 2020 announcement trailer was created around a loose concept at a time when the game itself didn’t actually exist, with the project reportedly little more than a Word document and a tiny team in place.

The details:

• In a recent interview with content creator Sunny Games, Undead Labs studio head Philip Holt explained that the 2020 reveal was produced “so early” in development that there was effectively no proper game or full team behind it, with only around four or five people working from a written design document.
• Holt said the announcement trailer was built by Blur Studio as a fully pre‑rendered CGI piece that represented ideas the team thought “might be cool to explore” in State of Decay 3, rather than footage captured from a playable build or any in‑engine vertical slice. As a result, some of its inclusions, such as the zombified deer, will not make an appearance in the full game.

• Undead Labs has now shared a new look at the game after six years and confirmed that an alpha playtest is coming to PC in May. The full game, which has yet to receive a release window, will be coming to both PC and Xbox Series X/S.