State of Decay 2struggled somewhat at launch, but benefited from being a solid exclusive accessible through Xbox Game Pass. At the time, it was criticized for its lack of depth and polish. Since then, developer Undead Labs has released two solid expansions forState of Decay 2, improving the game through iteration. Its newly announced plans are its biggest yet, with the Juggernaut Edition set to overhaul the game entirely.
TheState of Decay 2: Juggernaut Editionis planned to be a re-release for the now two-year-old game, featuring “tons of new content and improvements for veteran and new players alike.” Said new content includes an entirely newopen-world mapto explore, well as what’s described as a “post-tutorial experience” to help smooth players' transition from the tutorial to the main body of the game. A new weapon type, heavy melee weapons, has also been added, as well as a variety of lighting and graphical improvements.
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Outside of new content,Undead Labssays it’s made many improvements to the technical side ofState of Decay 2as well. Many of the lighting/graphical improvements are described as being optimized for better performance. Dozens of “mission and gameplay bugs” have also been fixed. It’s clear Undead Labs has taken the criticisms regarding both depth and polish to heart.
TheState of Decay 2: Juggernaut Editionwill be available starting March 13 via both Steam and the Xbox storefront. It will also be available as part ofXbox Game Pass, as it has been since its launch in 2018. The Juggernaut Edition will also include both the Daybreak and Heartland DLC. The Juggernaut Edition is a free upgrade for those who already own the game.
For those unfamiliar, the DaybreakDLC pack forState of Decay 2added depth to the game with a new mode, while Heartland included new missions, characters, and enemy types. Both are premium DLC, retailing for $9.99 apiece.
Microsoft’s decision to launch theState of Decay 2: Juggernaut Editionis a curious one, as exciting as the news is forState of Decayfans. After all, Microsoft will be releasingOri and the Will of the Wispsjust two days earlier, on March 11. Then, less than two weeks later, Microsoft is launching Ninja Theory’s online multiplayer action gameBleeding Edge. And that’s not even taking into account all of the other bigMarch launches likeNioh 2,Doom Eternal,Half-Life: Alyx, andAnimal Crossing: New Horizons. Even if gamers are interested in returning toState of Decay 2, they might struggle to find the time.
State of Decay 2: Juggernaut Editionreleases March 13 on PC and Xbox One.
