State of Decay for the Xbox 360 and PC was one of the best games of 2013. Yes, the game launched with a lot of bugs, but it was too enjoyable to put it down despite all the problems. Seeing how popular the game has become among gamers, Microsoft went ahead and courted the developers of State of Decay, Undead Labs. According to the developer, it has signed a multi-year deal with Microsoft, which means future games from Undead Labs will be exclusive to Microsoft platforms, such as the Xbox One.
Details are thin at the moment, with Undead Labs founder Jeff Strain stating, "we've signed a multi-year, multi-title agreement to extend our development relationship with Microsoft Studios" but choosing to decline on offering more information until a later date. However, Strain did take the opportunity to give a little tease of the future of State of Decay on the Xbox One.
Referring to the agreement with Microsoft, Strain had the following to say via Undead Labs official blog post:
"We'll be able to share details later this year, but as with State of Decay, we think it's best if we just keep our heads down and build some prototypes before we talk too much. For now, suffice it to say there are big things going on with State of Decay."
State of Decay after launching on Xbox Live back in June of 2013, managed to sell 500,000 copies in just two weeks, to become the fastest selling original title on Xbox Live Arcade. The game went on to sell 1 million copies, but that is due to it launching on the PC later in the year.
For a game that cost only $20 and launched with several bugs, it was praised by critics and consumers alike, making it one of the best games of 2013.
As for Microsoft's feeling about the new partnership, Strain added the following:
"If this were a press release, we'd have a vaguely computer-generated-sounding quote from Phil Spencer, head of Microsoft Studios, expressing Microsoft's excitement as well."
No word on when gamers can expect a sequel to State of Decay or if the developer is working on a new IP.
