Zombie apocalypse game lurching onto Xbox Live

With The Walking Dead getting stellar TV ratings last fall, zombies continue to be all the rage. The latest media offering to feature the undead apocalypse was announced today in the form of an upcoming exclusive title for Xbox Live. Code-named "Class3," the title will be an "open-world zombie-survival game" and will support one to two players for online or split-screen co-op.

No release window was given for Class3, which is in development at Seattle-area studio Undead Labs. The third-person title will have shooting and driving elements, as well as melee combat and a high gore content. Besides fighting off the undead hordes, gameplay will consist of fortifying settlements, rescuing other survivors, and going on raids for supplies.

Published by Microsoft Game Studios, Class3 will be the first step in developing a full-fledged massively multiplayer game for the Xbox 360, code-named "Class4." In a Q&A on the Undead Labs website, studio founder Jeff Strain, formerly of NCsoft, described how Class3's development will lead to that of Class4. He said that the latter will build on the former's framework and gameplay, leading to a title that "allows thousands of gamers to play together in a persistent online world that evolves and reacts over time to player actions."

To date, the Xbox 360 massively multiplayer game fraternity has been a very exclusive club. So far, only Final Fantasy XI has made it to the platform, with Marvel Universe Online and Champions Online being canceled for the console and Star Trek Online and Age of Conan languishing in development purgatory.