News
‘State of Decay 2’ Lumbers to May 22nd Release
Undead Labs’ State of Decay 2 was announced back at E3 2016, and after again showing up at last year’s E3, the release date has been set for May 22. The game will be released for the XBox One as well as PC in two versions: The standard edition ($29.99USD), and the Ultimate Edition ($49.99USD). The Ultimate Edition will include early access to State of Decay 2 on May 18, a free XBox One copy of State of Decay: Year One Survival Edition, as well as the Independence Pack and Daybreak Pack DLCs, which will be released at a later date.
The reasoning for the lower-than-expected price points, according to Microsoft GM of Games Marketing Aaron Greenberg, is to “build a long-term relationship with the State of Decay community and to foster deeper experiences with the franchise. We believe State of Decay 2 accomplishes this goal by immersing fans in the ultimate zombie survival fantasy, and we want to give more players the opportunity to join in and experience this unique game.”
Separately, in an official livestream late last week, Undead Labs answered several questions about the game, including questions about multiplayer (which will be 4-player co-op), as well as confirming that the game at first will not have microtransactions. Of course, things regarding the latter might change as the game goes on, but that’s a “wait and see” thing.
In the grim darkness of the far future there is only war, but it was a cheerful illustrator from England who helped to define the terrifying war-torn imagery that inspired what we now know as Grimdark (a hybrid genre combining horror with sci-fi/fantasy).
Unfortunately for fans of Warhammer 40,000, Trench Crusade and countless other sources of Grimdark thrills, veteran artist John Blanche passed away this week after struggling with health issues for the past few years.
While the artist retired back in 2023, he leaves us with an enormous legacy of iconic artwork that continues to inspire gamers and storytellers around the world to this very day.
The news is especially gloomy as it was only last year that Daniel Lowman and Napoleon Dynamite himself Jon Heder released The Grim & the Dark: The Search for John Blanche, a documentary following Heder’s exploration of the Grimdark genre culminating in a heartwarming encounter with Blanche in his own home.
Below is one of my favorite pieces by Blanche, his highly influential depiction of Warhammer 40k’s God-Emperor of Mankind on his Golden Throne.
We send our deepest condolences to John Blanche’s family, friends, and fans.
You must be logged in to post a comment.