Deltarune and Undertale creator Toby Fox updated fans on how Deltarune Chapters 3 and 4 are coming along in the July newsletter, alongside minor release date details.
Undertale was a huge deal when it first came out. Created by one person across 32 months and financed through a crowdfunding campaign, the game became a cultural phenomenon with a widely dedicated fan base. Between all the Sans fanfiction stories, Megalovania, and collaborations, series creator Toby Fox released the Deltarune by surprise in 2018. Sharing some narrative elements with its predecessor while having alternate versions of Undertale’s characters, Deltarune is also a success. Only the first two chapters have come out thus far.
However, Toby Fox gave fans details on when they can expect to get their hands on the next two chapters.
When are Deltarune Chapters 3 and 4 coming out?
While the Deltarune newsletter didn’t give an exact release date, Chapters 3 and 4 are nearing completion, which implies a release date sometime soon.
The July 30, 2024, newsletter claims the development team must complete a series of prerequisites before the next two chapters can come out.
The first and likely most game-changing of the bunch is testing the game engine’s new “game_change” function. This function treats Deltarune’s chapters as independent projects. Thanks to it, fans can expect the next chapters to be separate instead of mashed together in the engine like the first two, making for faster loading and easier development.
Next on the list is making the chapters ready for their console releases. While running the game on consoles isn’t a problem, fixing bugs and adhering to every manufacturer’s policies can require tweaking. Hence, the newsletter states this step will wait until the PC releases near completion.
Deltarune Chapters 3 and 4 will simultaneously come out in English and Japanese. Fortunately, Chapter 3’s localization is already complete. With Toby Fox personally involved with both chapters’ localization, he claims in the newsletter that this step likely won’t take long.
With these three steps done, a handful of things will remain. This includes fixing bugs, creating trailers and other marketing material, getting the game reviewed by rating boards, and ensuring the soundtrack is ready.
Will Deltarune Chapters 3 and 4 be free?
No, Deltarune Chapters 3 and 4 will cost money, although it’s currently unknown how much or whether they’ll be purchasable separately.
The first two Deltarune chapters are playable completely free of cost, but the same won’t be true for the next chapters. The original plan was to release Chapters 3, 4, and 5 simultaneously as a single paid title. However, while Chapter 3 was completed in 2023, Toby Fox stated in a newsletter that the initial paid release would include only Chapters 3 and 4 thanks to the prolonged development period.