'State of Decay 2' release date news: Sequel to feature 'substantially larger' world

"State of Decay 2," the next installment in the zombie survival franchise from Undead Labs is slated to arrive next year. In anticipation of its release, the game developer has revealed a few details about the upcoming video game.

In an interview with IGN, Undead Labs CEO Jeff Strain confirmed that "State of Decay 2" will feature a "substantially larger" area compared to the original game.

"The millions of State of Decay players have been clear about what they want in State of Decay 2: A bigger, better State of Decay they can play with their friends. We intend to deliver on all of those," he said.

Despite the confirmation, Strain revealed that they are not yet ready to dish out specific details including the different maps and the size of the playable area.

During the conversation with the media outlet, design director Richard Foge also shed light on the multiplayer aspect of "State of Decay 2." Given that "State of Decay" is community based, he stated that relationships with other survivors will be important as they will bring in a new dynamic to the gameplay. While players can't turn the upcoming sequel into a player versus player (PvP) game, there are many ways for other players to become hostile, which will affect gameplay in a meaningful way.

"The heard of State of Decay is consequences, and we need to make sure that other players are more than just an awesome addition to moment-to-moment gameplay; they need to become a part of the story based on the agency they have in your world," Foge explained.

"State of Decay 2" will be released as an Xbox Play Anywhere title which means purchasing the game will give players access to both Xbox One and Windows 10 versions of the title.

No official release date has been announced but it is expected to arrive sometime in 2017.