Deltarune Chapter 4 Nearing Completion, But Release Still Far Off

Toby Fox, the mastermind behind Deltarune, recently treated fans to a development update. Let's dive into the latest news on the game's progress.

Toby Fox Shares Deltarune Progress Update

Deltarune Chapter 4 Nearing Completion

In his latest newsletter, Undertale creator Toby Fox offered fans a glimpse into the progress of Deltarune's upcoming chapters. He confirmed the planned simultaneous release of Chapters 3 and 4 on PC, Switch, and PS4 (as announced in his Halloween 2023 newsletter). While Chapter 4 is nearing completion, Fox clarified that the release is still some time away. Remember, even the free Chapters 1 and 2 (released in 2018 and 2021 respectively) took considerable development time.

Currently, Chapter 4 is undergoing polishing. All maps are finished, battles are playable, but some fine-tuning remains. Fox highlighted a few areas needing attention: two cutscenes require minor improvements, one battle needs balancing and visual enhancements, another needs a better background, and two battles are having their ending sequences refined. Despite this, Fox considers Chapter 4 essentially playable, having received positive feedback from three friends who've completed a playthrough.

Although Chapter 4 is progressing well, Fox acknowledged the challenges of a multi-platform, multilingual release. He noted that the process would be simpler if the game were free, but as their first major paid release since Undertale, they’re prioritizing perfection.

Before the release of Chapters 3 and 4, the team has several key tasks: testing new functions, finalizing PC and console versions, localizing the game into Japanese, and rigorous bug testing.

As previously stated in his February newsletter, Chapter 3 development is complete. While Chapter 4 undergoes final adjustments, Fox revealed that some team members are already starting preliminary work on Chapter 5, including map drafts and bullet pattern design.

While a concrete release date remains elusive, the newsletter provided exciting teasers: a snippet of dialogue between Ralsei and Rouxls, a character description for Elnina, and a new item called GingerGuard. The three-year wait since Chapter 2 understandably caused some initial disappointment, but the growing scope and Fox's statement that Chapters 3 and 4 combined will be longer than Chapters 1 and 2 together have reignited anticipation.

Despite the ongoing wait, Fox expressed confidence about the future development pace of Deltarune, anticipating smoother releases for subsequent chapters once Chapters 3 and 4 are launched.