State of Decay 3 is an open-world survival game in which players control a community of survivors after a zombie apocalypse. Players build and maintain settlements, scavenge for resources, fight zombies, recruit survivors, and make decisions about how their community develops.
The game can be played alone or in online shared world cooperative multiplayer for up to four players. In the shared world mode, players are planned to be able to build facilities, expand settlements, move story progress forward, and affect the same saved world. Players may also claim multiple settlements, with up to three bases that can be expanded over time.
The game introduces Plague Nests, which are dynamic enemy hubs that build on the Plague Hearts system from State of Decay 2. According to creative director Kevin Patzelt, Plague Nests can change their behaviour and react to player actions. The game world is planned to be larger than previous entries; Patzelt said that the playable area is "about four times the size of a single State of Decay 2 map" and that players will be able to access the entire map from the start.