Welcome to your new favorite nightmare, Survivors!  My name is Julia Wolbach, Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Dead Drop Studios. I’m delighted to share new details with you today about our upcoming co-op survival horror title Outbreak: Shades of Horror, which will be releasing on Xbox Series X|S in 2026.  Players will navigate the city of Cypress Ridge at the opening of a zombie apocalypse that threatens to annihilate all human life. Do you have what it takes to escape the city alive?

Enough Content to Feed the Undead for Years

Outbreak: Shades of Horror is filled to the brim with action-packed modes, breathtaking maps, diverse playable characters, and nearly limitless costume customization.  You will access it all from Cypress Reel, the town movie theater that serves as the last line of defense against the zombie horde; the theatre also functions as an expansive hub world and player lobby. From this hub you can jump into Story Mode for a terrifying survival horror campaign where you’ll manage resources, solve puzzles, and carefully deal with powerful zombie creatures as you race to escape Cypress Ridge; stand your ground, build defenses, and defend innocent civilians against hordes of zombies and monsters in Invasion Mode, or shoot, loot, and reach the evac point quickly before your enemies become too powerful in Raid Mode.  If that isn’t enough action for you, take a stroll into the arcade for bonus Mini-Games that test your skills and reflexes.

Play your way, either offline in single-player or in online co-op over Xbox Live.  You can even switch between first-person and third-person gameplay at the press of a button!  Across every mode, take control of and level up dozens of playable Survivors, each with their own loadouts, stats, and abilities.  The more you play, the more you unlock; new items, weapons, and costume customizations allow you to mold each character to your desire.

A Bloody Affair that Takes Full Advantage of Xbox Series X

Built in cutting edge Unreal Engine 5.6, Outbreak: Shades of Horror pushes Xbox Series X|S to its limits. Enjoy detailed and realistic metahuman characters, advanced ray tracing, and dazzling megalights, all at a smooth 60+ FPS.

Explore sprawling atmospheric landscapes featuring brilliant weather effects. Our water utilizes ray traced translucent reflections and refractions resulting in exceptionally realistic lighting around wet surfaces.  When it comes to precipitation, you’ll find thousands of lit particles that interact with the environment, offering a fully immersive experience. Feel the dread in hauntingly lit tunnels and leaky passageways and watch chaos unfold across Cypress Ridge with exploding helicopters, screaming banshees, gory dismemberment, and so much more.  Thanks to megalight technology, volumetric shadowing is supported on almost every light source, so the blood-pumping thrills and spine-tingling scares are off the charts!

A Constantly Evolving Hellscape

Seasonal and game-crossover events keep the game active and fresh.  Enjoy a variety of challenges, special maps, new characters, special cosmetics, and more.

The Halloween season brings both tricks and treats to Cypress Reel’s decor.  You can expect new tasks to clear to unlock Seasonal Tickets; these items allow you to unlock new themed cosmetics that can be freely mixed-and-matched as you see fit!  A special Invasion Mode map has been added featuring an expansive pumpkin patch and a rocky castle to defend at dusk.  Future seasons, such as Winter Wonderland, will bring even more to conquer; you may even discover new Mini-Games to play in the Cypress Reel arcade!

Outbreak: Shades of Horror seeks to bring back old haunts from Dead Drop Studios games of yesteryear. The first crossover to be featured is Dinobreak, which meshes classic survival horror with ballistic dinosaur blasting.  Check out the Dinobreak booth in Cypress Reel and do some target practice before you dive into the T-Rex sized Dinobreak Raid Mode map. Crush added missions to earn Crossover Tickets; similar to our Seasonal Tickets, these are your key to unlocking bonus Dinobreak-themed cosmetics.  Future game-crossovers are sure to delight with new surprises for new and veteran players alike!

Humanity Teeters on the Edge of Oblivion

Hold out just a little bit longer until Outbreak: Shades of Horror swarms onto Xbox Series X|S in 2026!  Try not to be distracted by the next-gen visuals and lighting as you battle for your existence in a city ravaged by the undead.  Will you survive Cypress Ridge or rise up to chow down on your friends instead? Our wishlist page will be available soon. Stay tuned to Xbox Wire and social for updates!