State of Decay 2 Has Three Maps Ready at Launch, Possibly More Later

State of Decay 2 is the anticipated sequel to the indie developed zombie survival game State of Decay. Developer Undead Labs has confirmed how many maps the sequel will have at launch. Confirmed through their blog, the studio said there were three maps, each, "roughly the size of the original."

These maps will be more varied than just one type of area. "You should expect to see slightly different environments, definitely different landmarks and locations, different layouts lending themselves to different strategies, unique home sites, and even different mission types," Undead Labs said.

They went on to explain why they made three maps instead of one large one. The idea basically boiled down to wanting to keep the player from feelings of "deja vu" and to keep options open for expanding locale. Adding more area is easier with separate maps as opposed to "stretching" an existing map.

"Why'd we do it that way? Well, primarily, because it makes the game more fun. It really feels like you're moving from one small town to another, and creates a tremendous sense of immersion. And perhaps counter-intuitively, it makes the world feel even bigger."

"You know how on one map (even one three times the size as the original game's) the longer you play, the more you start feeling deju vu with every mission? That's less of an issue with separate maps. And see above about strategies and missions. Oh, and one more detail–the multiple map set up makes it easy to expand the world down the line, if you know what I mean."

The plan is to be able to move all survivors and supplies between maps if preferred. The details, of course, could iron out different in the final build, but that is their intention.

State of Decay 2 will launch in 2017, though the release date is to be announced at E3.