Chrono Odyssey quietly delays release goalpost to 2026

Chrono Odyssey initially had a Q4 2025 release goal, but the date has since been moved by a year. Although it was never advertised publicly as such, Kakao Games was internally eyeing a release date at the end of 2025, as multiple quarterly earnings reports corroborate. The latest report, however, shifts the gears to Q4 2026.

One additional year of development time will give Chrono Odyssey a much-needed breathing room.

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Why Chrono Odyssey's delay to 2026 is not shocking

The confirmation (Image via Kakao Games)

Although not yet framed as a public announcement, the now-realigned release date does not come as a shock. Chrono Odyssey had its first major thermometer check with a closed beta test in June, and the game did not remotely appear ready to be pushed out within six months.

Leaving aside some flak for the obvious similarities to New World (which itself isn't doing too hot in sales for a while), the Chrono Odyssey beta was a janky mess of tattered visual artifacts and rough gameplay. Thankfully, the developers have taken the right hints from all the criticisms, and they want to come back strong for a second beta.

As we reported earlier, NPIXEL CEO Bonggun Bae himself admitted that this second beta in question might not happen in 2025, let alone a full release. Putting everything into context, this delay to 2026 is great news for everyone looking forward to it.

In the latest Kakao Games Earnings Call, it was revealed that nearly two million players showed interest in the first closed beta. The publishers certainly see the market demand and are adamant about having the best possible day-one product on a full launch.

If anything, the sheer number of ambitious overhauls the developers have shared goals for seems like a tall ask, looking at the difference between what we got in the CBT (although they later claimed it's a much earlier focus-group test build from 2024) and the developers' notes they published throughout July.

You can check out these developer blogs here (part 1) and here (part 2), but the gist (or at least the hope) is to overhaul every major aspect, from combat feel to world design to balance to even the narrative. It remains to be seen whether Kakao Games makes good on their promise, and our first clue will be this make-or-break second beta.

Meanwhile, a second revelation was made for another Kakao Games MMORPG in the same quarterly report. ArcheAge Chronicles, previously planned for 2025, has now been delayed to fall 2026.