Highly Anticipated Open-World RPG Just Got Delayed Weeks Before Launch

January tends to be a slower month for new game releases. If you’re a cozy game fan like me, that might not feel like the case (hello, Animal Crossing 3.0 and Cozy Caravan). But in terms of massive new RPGs, January’s lineup is fairly limited. And one of the month’s bigger open-world titles has just been pushed back, giving us one less new game to look forward to this month. Netmarble’s free-to-play RPG The Seven Deadly Sins Origin was originally slated for release on January 28th. Now, we won’t be stepping into this anime-inspired world until March.

The delay news comes via a new January 16th Dev Notes post on the official Seven Deadly Sins Origin website. In the post, Netmarble’s PD Koo outlines the reasons behind the delay, as well as a long list of planned improvements that the devs want to implement before inviting players back to Britannia. An exact new release date for The Seven Deadly Sins Origin was not confirmed, but we know that it is now set to release in March 2026.

The Seven Deadly Sins Origin Pushed Back to March As Devs Respond to Beta Test Feedback

The primary driving force behind the delay seems to be feedback from a November 2025 Closed Beta test. Though Netmarble notes they received positive feedback about core content like story and combat, the list of suggested improvements sparked an internal review. At that time, the team decided to delay the launch so they could focus on improving The Seven Deadly Sins Origin before releasing it to the world.

Netmarble’s Dev Notes dig into the details for what changes the team hopes to implement before launch. Improvements fall into a few key areas: controls, combat system, and UI. In particular, the devs want to ensure that controls feel responsive and intuitive, something players felt was lacking in the beta. Combat was also considered too difficult for many, and the menu felt too complex. Therefore, Netmarble wants to re-evaluate these core areas before The Seven Deadly Sins Origin comes out.

In addition to these key improvements, Netmarble is also going to implement significant changes to exploration to make it easier to get around Britannia. These include standardizing key mapping, adding more guidance for next steps in your adventure, and adding more features to help players recover HP and gather materials more easily.

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As far as game delays go, this is one of the more in-depth and transparent delay announcements. It’s clear that Netmarble has a detailed plan for what those extra months can do to improve the final game. For the full list of feedback and planned changes, you can check out the extensive Dev Notes post.

The Seven Deadly Sins Origin will bring players back to the world of the popular anime series. It will be free-to-play, with plans to launch for PC and mobile. Originally scheduled for January 28th, the free open-world RPG will now be released in March 2026.

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