Development has been quietly underway on State of Decay 2 since its E3 2016 unveiling, with a release date now promised for Spring 2018. Despite this window quickly approaching, details surrounding the open-world zombie shooter have remained scarce and Microsoft has shown little indication of more on the way. Although brief trailers in recent years have established a strong foundation for its post-apocalyptic setting, other upcoming titles from the publisher like Sea of Thieves and Crackdown 3 have the spotlight.
A recent trend among UK retailers is now indicating a significant shift for the title, with Amazon UK and GAME now taking preorders at £24.99. While these retailers previously displayed listings between £40 and £50, the expected price point for triple-A titles, the price has been nearly halved without clear reasoning.
Discounts on upcoming games are uncommon – especially price drops as significant as seen with State of Decay 2. With this pricing reflected across multiple UK-based retailers, it's looking likely that the manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) for the title has been dropped to align with the game's content. While pricing across U.S. still remains at $59.99 across major retailers, we'll be following the situation closely to see if comparable price drops occur worldwide.
With this price drop only among a handful of retailers, there's still room for this to be a pricing error – if so, you may have the opportunity to pick up the game at a discount before of launch. Alternatively, this could be indicative of a shift in the game's marketing away from Microsoft's full-priced blockbusters of 2018. A similar move was taken with ReCore in late 2016, offering the game at a $39.99 price point, eventually releasing to generally mediocre critical reception. And based on the general mystery surrounding State of Decay 2 up until this point, such a move wouldn't be surprising.
The discussion surrounding triple-A base game pricing has seen a revival in recent months, following an industry-wide push for deeper monetization in titles. State of Decay 2 may be among these games verging away from the norm, with a lower price of entry at launch. Back in January, the game's community manager clarified that microtransactions will be absent in favor of paid DLC, though it's unclear whether these plans are accurate today.
State of Decay 2 is currently on track for a Spring 2018 release, for Xbox One and Windows 10. The game is expected to offering Xbox One X enhancements, with cross-platform purchases, saves and multiplayer via Xbox Play Anywhere. The game will also be available via Microsoft's Netflix-style subscription service, Xbox Game Pass.
