Rebranding a zombie powerhouse

Undead Labs partnered with 51 Eggs to update and elevate its studio’s brand identity to help it transition from the fiesty indie studio it was to the top-tier game studio it had become. As part of the Microsoft Xbox Studio network, Undead Labs is known for its post-apocalyptic zombie franchise, State of Decay. Their original identity was an on-the-nose rendition of obvious zombie tropes—neon green slime, corpse hands rising from the grave, blood splatters, etc. The brief was to update the brand in a way that spoke to its core audience and evolved the story to accommodate properties beyond the zombie genre. 

Our strategy was rooted in two key points. First, comparable game studio brands didn’t appear to invest in their brands, instead focusing exclusively on their games. Second, the audience for Undead Labs’ studio brand (Gamers and potential employees) shared a common passion for intrigue, lore, and mystique. Our approach was to elevate the studio brand and treat it like a game itself. 

To move away from the direct zombie references, our first step was to redefine “Undead” as the shared human traits and experiences that span generations and then build a brand world that packaged this definition within the aesthetic of ancient languages, secret societies, and hidden knowledge. The new brand was revealed to millions of avid gamers at the Xbox Developer Showcase, who enthusiastically dove into the lore to discover its secrets.