Summary
Zombies have proven to be eternal. While cycling through periods of popularity, the theme seems to never fully disappear, and there are nearly always a fewupcoming zombie gamesthat seem destined to make a splash. Horror is pretty much a cornerstone of all creative media, and the genre regularly incorporates the undead to craft intense and unforgettable frights. Whilesynonymous with horror, zombies are not tied to any specific genre, and they can easily star in romances or comedies. Naturally, this flexibility extends to the gaming industry.
So far, the current year has mostly focused on ports and remasters, at least when it comes to AAA releases revolving around this theme. However, there are plenty ofnewzombie gamesthat have announced plans to debut in 2025, and they cover a fairly wide range of playstyles. Let’s highlight a few of these titles.
As long as its monsters are similar to zombies, a game will be considered even if it assigns a different name to them.
Updated June 10, 2025 by Mark Sammut:While no newupcoming zombie gameshave been added, Killing Floor 3 and Dyling Light: The Beast have announced release dates.
Technically,Killing Floor’s zeds are not zombies, but they essentially play the same role and the games cater to the same crowd. Tripwire’s co-op shooter is finally gearing up for its comeback, and while not much has been revealed aboutKilling Floor 3, the franchise is generally quite reliable.Killing Floor 2has enjoyed a very long shelf life, and it is stillfairly activeconsidering it has been around since 2016; still, the title is starting to show its age, and plenty of similar games have entered the market over the last few years.
Set in 2091, the upcoming sequel will be taking on an almost cyberpunk theme by presenting a megacorporation as the core evil. Unsurprisingly, this organization has decided to weaponize zeds, forcing a resistance group to rise and rebel. Outside this basic plot summary, Tripwire has kept most other details under wraps, although the developer has confirmed thatKilling Floor 3will support 6-player co-op.
Techland’sDying Lightis well-established as one of the best open-world zombie franchises. While not getting glowing reviews, the original project blended action, parkour, and exploration in a sublime way that did not negatively impact its capacity for horror. Even all these years later,Dying Lightholds up as an impressive sandbox that manages to be scary and constantly fun. The sequel,Dying Light 2 Stay Humanwas more of an action RPG with some horror elements than vice versa, which garnered a somewhat mixed reception from die-hard fans of its predecessor. Nevertheless, the positives outweigh the negatives, making it a worthwhile option for anyone craving a zombie romp.
Dying Light: The Beastappears to be a throwback to the 2015 entry’s style and tone, includingthe return of Kyle Crane as the protagonist. Set in Castor Woods, the standalone adventure starts with Kyle escaping his imprisonment, setting him loose in an environment that has changed a lot over the last decade. More importantly, Kyle has some zombie DNA, which gives him unique abilities.
The “Beast” in the title seems to refer to both Kyle and a monster roaming Castor Woods. At least, that appears to be the case based on the currently available information.
The Beastshould have most of the staples associated with the franchise. During the day, players will be able to explore relatively freely (although not without risk); meanwhile, the night brings out the worst horrors found in Castor Woods. The game also supports 4-player co-op, which should be a fun alternative to a solo run.
Following up on the relative success of 2022’sThe House of the Dead: Remake, MegaPixel is working on reviving the sequel, which originally debuted in arcades in 1998. While popular during the late 90s and 2000s, the franchise fell somewhat to the wayside once arcades lost some of their relevancy, and modern entries have been hard to come by over the last decade. Remakes of old-school favorites might not be as exciting as completely new projects, but these releases at least keep the IP active to an extent.
Most people are probably familiar withThe House of the Dead, so they most likely already know if the upcoming remake is something they might enjoy. For the uninitiated, these games are on-rails shooters where players only control the gunplay and not the movement. While, naturally, at their best in arcades, the series has generally translated well to consoles, and the second entry is fairly well-liked.
While not exactly common,extraction shootershave picked up some steam in recent years, largely thanks to a handful of games that have managed to maintain communities. Fans of the genre craving a flesh-eating twist on the formula might wish to keep an eye onThe Midnight Walkers, anupcoming zombie gamethat should support both solo and team play.
Going by the available information, players will be dropped into a mega center that just happens to be overrun with zombies, and they need to search the area for supplies. Naturally, besides trying to avoid the zombies, players will have to be careful to avoid other scavengers who are trying to earn their riches.The Midnight Walkerswill have multiple zombie types, weapon crafting, and hardcore difficulty.
Hard to imagine that a game simply calledProjekt Zwill be released too soon, but this World War II zombie shooter has made quite the impression with its trailers. Not only does it provide a captivating atmosphere that infuses a bit of horror into the well-treaded genre setting, but visually the game offers beautiful lighting and textures.
The developers are a fresh new German indie studio called 314 Arts comprised of nine total employees. It’ll offer bothsingle-player and online co-opzombie killing spectacles as players try to uncover Nazi secrets hidden on an occupied island.
Now, here is anupcoming zombie gamethat could turn some heads, providing it is backed by quality. From the same developer responsible for the polarizingDying: Reborn,Showa American Storyenvisions a future where Japan and the United States have effectively fused, with the former buying out most of the latter. Honestly, this is a fascinating premise in its own right and could have made for an interesting experience without incorporating any other twists. However,Showa American Storygoes the extra mile by introducing a post-apocalyptic element, along with a female protagonist who wakes up from the dead without any real knowledge about what has happened to the world.
Going by its description and available footage,Showa American Storyseems to be a hack and slash RPG, with the combat system blending third-person shooting with fast-paced melee combat that seems reminiscent of something likeOnechanbara. Nekcom is a fairly small company, so it is recommended to keep expectations relatively realistic.Showa American Storywill likely aim to deliver a B-movie, along with maybe someYakuza-esque humor. That is all well and good, and it should make for a fun and silly ride.
Be it party-based shooters or open-world survival projects, zombie games can threaten to blend into one, particularly high-profile releases. Fortunately,Holstindoes not have that issue, and only a glance is required to notice the game’s unique presentation.
Pixel graphics are heavily used by the indie scene, soHolstinturning to this art style hardly sets it apart from the crowd; however, the execution is ultimately all that matters. Sonka not only has put together some gorgeous isometric visuals, but the developer has also incorporated 3D support. Yes, players can swap between the two perspectives, changing from an all-encompassing viewpoint that is perfect for puzzles to a behind-the-shoulder camera for third-person shooting gameplay.
The setting is fresh as well, with the story dropping players in a ’90s Polish town that has fallen into dark times (literally and figuratively). Some residents have transformed into full-blown zombie-like monsters, while others seem to be in the process of losing their humanity.Holstinseems to incorporate classic touches from survival horror, be it scavenging, limited ammo, a vulnerable protagonist, and puzzles.
Revealed inJune 2023,John Carpenter’s Toxic Commandointroduced itself with a gloriously cheesy ’80s trailer soundtracked by Bon Jovi. Set in a post-apocalyptic world overrun with zombies,Toxic Commandolooks set to be a co-op first-person shooter with a class system and a quirky sense of humor. Any horror project that carries John Carpenter’s name comes with higher expectations, but this game at least left a positive first impression.
Saber Interactive has an extensive resume that includesWorld War Z, another co-op zombie shooter that was received fairly well.Toxic Commandoappears to retain that release’s overwhelmingly massive hordes, which is the best part of that game; hopefully, the upcoming title fine-tunes and improves uponWorld War Z’s ideas.
After being in development for quite a few years without much new information coming out,Blight: Survivalstarted to seem like it might not happen. However, the developer,Haenir Studio, has begun to release updates in 2025, so the project seems to be progressing. In 2024, the company reached an agreement with Behaviour Interactive for theDead by Daylightstudio to publishBlight: Survival. Naturally, cautious optimism is advised for any pending title that is somewhat of an unknown quantity, but there is enough here to at least warrant a look.
Blight: Survival’s selling point is its mix of zombies and medieval warfare, a combination that has only been explored a handful of times over the decades. Going by the available information, the game seems to revolve around 4-player co-op, with the group entering a battlefield where they have to kill, survive, and eliminate the infection’s source. Runs might be structured like extraction shooters, although that is not confirmed.
Undead Labs feels like a game developer destined to deliver a truly remarkable zombie experience in the world of video games. Their first entry in the genre was a lower-budget arcade-style zombie survival game that won the hearts of players despite its many bugs and issues. Its sequel,State of Decay 2, took the series forward.
In 2020,State of Decay 3was revealed, and interviews with the studio suggest they’re working on making this the zombie survival game they’ve felt they were capable of delivering. Now owned by Microsoft and overseen by Xbox Game Studios, it seems that the third installment in theState of Decayseries could be the one that puts Undead Labs on the map in a major way.
After spending a few years out of the limelight,State of Decay 3made its big return during 2024’s Xbox Games Showcase, dropping a new trailer that hopefully suggests a release might not be that far away.
