Undead Labs head Philip Holt says several thousand people still come to State of Decay each day, with Game Pass helping the franchise reach a wider audience. The figure is Holt’s description—not a published count of concurrent players or daily active users.
What does “several thousand a day” mean?
In an interview with The Game Business on October 6, 2026, Holt said: “Even today, we have several thousand people coming through the door every day.” The interview does not define how those people are counted. It gives no underlying dataset or methodology, so the statement should be read as Holt’s estimate of ongoing daily arrivals, not as an audited live-player total.
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
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State of Decay 2 | $37.32 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
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State of Decay 2 - Xbox One (Renewed) | $27.19 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
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State of Decay- Year-One Survival Edition | $35.99 | Buy on Amazon |
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State of Decay 2 - Ultimate Edition - Xbox One (Renewed) | $55.63 | Buy on Amazon |
| 5 |
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State of Decay- Year-One Survival Edition (Renewed) | $28.33 | Buy on Amazon |
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It also does not establish that several thousand people are online at the same time. A daily-arrival figure and a concurrent-player count measure different things; the interview supplies no concurrent figure.
How does Game Pass fit into the audience?
Holt credited Game Pass with helping the State of Decay franchise reach 25 million players. That is a cumulative player-reach claim, not a sales total or a count of people currently playing. It cannot be directly compared with the daily-arrivals estimate as if the two figures described the same measure.
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He also acknowledged that Game Pass brings in people who quickly decide the game is not for them. In Holt’s words, “A lot of players from Game Pass come in and they’re like ‘this isn’t for me’ and leave.” His account presents the subscription audience as a source of both discovery and churn, not as proof that every person who tries the game stays.
What did Holt say about long-term players?
Holt described State of Decay as “a very retentive game” and said that players the studio captures can stay for a long time. He recalled that roughly half of monthly active users had been in the game close to two years, while about a quarter had been there for more than five years.
Rank #2
- State of Decay 2 is the ultimate open world zombie survival game Four Player Co-Op Multiplayer Establish a base, develop your characters and manage resources to survive in a post-apocalyptic world
- Xbox One X Enhanced with higher resolutions, steadier framerates and better effects
- Every decision has lasting consequences In the end, how you survive just might surprise you
- Pre-order now to get the Amazon exclusive Survivor’s Pack Includes the Zed Swatter melee weapon, an exclusive vehicle and an assortment of survival supplies and abilities - Codes will be received within 7 days of release
Those are approximate recollections, not a published retention report. Holt framed them with qualifications such as “something like” and “last time I looked”; the interview provides no cohort data, precise churn rate, or independent study to verify the figures.
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Why State of Decay 3 is part of the story
Holt’s comments came as Undead Labs discussed the next game in the series. As of the October 6, 2026 interview, he said State of Decay 3 was in alpha and scheduled for release the following year. He also said it was planned to launch day one on Game Pass, and described building a four-player co-op shared world as the project’s largest investment. These were plans stated in the interview, not guarantees of release timing or final features.
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The same interview said Undead Labs’ employees had bought the company after Microsoft sought a buyer, and that State of Decay 3 had a new publisher whose identity was not named. Holt also pointed to the studio’s history with State of Decay 2: the source reports 38 updates during Undead Labs’ eight years as an Xbox studio, with the latest in November 2024. That history is context, not a promise of future updates.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the numbers can—and cannot—show
Holt’s remarks suggest that the franchise continues to attract people and that a portion of its audience remains for years. But the interview does not publish an exact daily count, define “people coming through the door,” or provide an independent verification. The 25 million figure describes cumulative franchise reach; the daily estimate and retention recollections are separate claims with different time frames and no disclosed counting methodology.
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- Unlocking Heroes: Lifeline Roster
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Rank #4
- State of Decay 2 Ultimate Edition includes early access to the full game, a code for the original State of Decay: Year One Survival Edition on console, and a code for two add-on content packs: Independence Pack and Daybreak Pack
- Build your community and invite up to three friends to explore an open world filled with hostile zombies Four Player Co-Op Multiplayer Establish a base, develop your characters and manage resources to survive in a post-apocalyptic world
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- Pre-order now to get the Amazon exclusive Survivor’s Pack Includes the Zed Swatter melee weapon, an exclusive vehicle and an assortment of survival supplies and abilities - Codes will be received within 7 days of release
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
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