An updated version, State of Decay 2: Juggernaut Edition, was released on May 22, 2020 and overhauled the original game's graphics and added a new map.

State of Decay 2 is a zombie survival game, with an emphasis on scavenging for items, in which gameplay is experienced from a third-person view.

[1] The player can choose from several locations to build a base, then reinforce and improve it with various facilities like watchtowers, gardens, sleeping quarters, kitchens, workshops, medical bays, etc.

Cooperative multiplayer is also available allowing to players to recruit a friend to temporarily join their game to assist them with objectives.

Each character has a fixed set of "traits" which give them advantages or flaws (such as tire out more easily, or can improve a certain skill faster), a crucial part of gameplay is working around a survivor’s disadvantages, as even flawed traits can sometimes lead to an advantageous hero bonus when the player manages to increase that survivor’s standing in the community.

They respawn infinitely (unless the player establishes an outpost, which prevents spawns in their vicinity), are attracted to noise, and are capable of sprinting nearly as fast as the characters.

[7] On June 11, 2019, a new expansion pack for the game, Heartland, was released, featuring new missions, characters and new enemy types.

This version primarily featured a graphical overhaul and different lighting schemes, along with a new map named Providence Ridge, a former logging town with much more pronounced elevation changes and twisty roads.

On September 1, 2021, the Homecoming Update was released and features a host of quality of life improvements (including a higher ammo count for one inventory slot, a revamped gun HUD, and vehicles now keep their headlights on after exiting to illuminate dark areas) along with a new playable map Trumbull Valley, remastered from the original game.

[11][12] Alessandro Barbosa of GameSpot gave State of Decay 2 a 5/10, enjoying the satisfying combat but taking issue with the lack of depth in its survival systems and the amount of bugs; he felt that "State of Decay 2 sometimes feels like a far-too-real representation of the mundane reality that comes with surviving a zombie apocalypse.

However, he praised the combat, calling it "simple but satisfying", and the variety of zombies and the persistent fear of permanent death; he awarded it a 7.5/10.