Formed in 2009 by ArenaNet co-founder Jeff Strain, Undead Labs was created with a single focus: to create a zombie MMO, or as Strain called it two years ago, an MMOZ. The company is still building toward it, Strain said today, and Class3, a third-person zombie survival horror game, will be a big step forward.
"Undead Labs is thrilled to work directly with Microsoft to bring Xbox 360 players an outstanding zombie-survival franchise," Strain said in a statement. "Our mission is to create original online games that truly feel at home on the console platform, and Xbox 360 is a fantastic platform for online console gaming. We plan to create an ambitious open world XBLA game and use its gameplay, setting, and technology as the foundation for a full online world game."
In Class3, players are asked a simple question: what would you do in the face of a zombie apocalypse? According to Undead Labs, the game will feature guns, cars, hand-to-hand combat and "copious amounts of zombie gore." So what makes it different from other zombie survival games?
"Players choose where to make their stand, designing and fortifying their settlements, performing daring raids for valuable stores of food and ammunition, and rescuing other playable survivors," the studio stated. "The open world develops in real-time, shaped by player actions, with content determined by their choices and the ever-increasing zombie threat."
Class3 will be published by Microsoft Game Studios and be an XBLA exclusive. The studio did not announce pricing or a release date. A lengthy Q&A is now up on the Undead Labs website, answering the most popular questions about Class3.