New Solo Leveling Project Officially Delayed In The US

Solo Leveling has maintained immense popularity, ever since its debut in 2016 through Chugong’s novel. However, the series went on to surpass all expectations and become a U.S. phenomenon in 2024, as this was the year this popular South Korean series went on to receive its first official anime adaptation by Aniplex and A-1 Pictures. With its anime release, Solo Leveling’s popularity skyrocketed, and since then, the franchise hasn’t looked back and is continuously getting new releases.

One of the most anticipated new projects, known as Solo Leveling: Karma, is a video game that expands the lore initially set by the author. Fans were excited to welcome Solo Leveling: Karma in 2026 in the U.S. However, new Q&A reveals the game will be delayed for North American players, and will instead be able to play for fans sometime later in 2027.

Solo Leveling Karma Is Coming In 2026 Only For Japan and South Korea

During Anime Expo 2025, Solo Leveling went on to announce a major project in the works on the back of its already amazing TV anime adaptation. The new project is a video game for the franchise. So far, Solo Leveling has two games: Solo Leveling: Arise and Solo Leveling: Arise Overdrive. However, the new game, titled Solo Leveling: Karma, is far more ambitious. Solo Leveling: Karma greatly expands the lore of the original story by Chugong and sees the coverage of the 27-Year Monarch War. This is precisely why this game is extremely important, even for the anime, manhwa, and web novel fans.

Solo Leveling: Karma is set to be released on PC and mobile, and just like previous Solo Leveling video games, it’s produced by Netmarble Studio, a South Korean video game studio. Ever since its initial reveal, Solo Leveling: Karma has been teased for a 2026 release date. However, even today, we still don’t have an exact release date for the video game, which raises quite a few eyebrows.

On the Apple Store, it is slated for a release on 31 December 2026, but that is simply a placeholder date until the real release date is decided by the studio. Now, a recent Q&A by Netmarble Studio has revealed that the game is indeed still planned to come out in 2026; however, there is a catch. This 2026 release date is unique for the main target audience of this video game, that being Japan and South Korea. For these two countries, the video game is expected to drop in the next few months, but for U.S. fans, the wait could be a lot longer.

Solo Leveling Karma US Release Delayed Until 2027

Solo Leveling is undeniably one of the most popular anime series in North America today, and especially in the United States. Its popularity skyrocketed after the debut of the first season by Aniplex and A-1 Pictures in 2024. Solo Leveling Season 2 has only made the series more popular, especially with the sensational fight of Jinwoo against the Ant King. With so much hype behind Solo Leveling, U.S. fans were greatly excited for the release of Solo Leveling: Karma, as not only is it set to be a massive treat for gamers who love the series, but also for fans who are excited for more lore.

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“Q3. What is the current target release schedule, and will there be any differences between the domestic and global versions?

Business Division Head Lee Jong-hyuk = First, we plan to showcase the game to players in Korea and Japan. The specific schedule for the official release is under final adjustment, and we will announce it as soon as it is confirmed. However, because Korea and Japan are important, major markets, we are preparing thoroughly and plan to expand to global service afterward.

While there will be a time gap between releases, we aim to provide the same fun to players in all regions without differences in systems or content between the domestic and global versions. Thorough multilingual localization and establishing a stable server environment are our top priorities, and detailed service schedules will be announced later.”

It’s unfortunate that Netmarble Studio has revealed that Solo Leveling: Karma is not coming anytime soon to the United States. This information was first revealed during a new Q&A with Netmarble, first made public on September 30, 2026. In the third question of the Q&A, it was revealed that the priority of the studio was a release in Japan and South Korea. It was also clearly stated that an international version, which would include the United States, has yet to be created. Global services haven’t been expanded yet, and localization is still in the works.

In other words, it is almost a guarantee that Solo Leveling: Karma will not be released in 2026 for the United States and that fans will have to wait until 2027. While not explicitly stated by Netmarble Studio, 2026 is nearing its end, and the international version will likely not come out for a few months after the Japan and South Korea versions. As such, U.S. fans have to be patient to see Jinwoo fight his toughest battle in Solo Leveling: Karma. It will be easier to guess when the US version of Solo Leveling: Karma is releasing once we get the official East Asian release dates. According to the new Q&A, this release date is under final adjustments.

Everything We Know About Solo Leveling: Karma’s Release So Far

Solo Leveling: Karma is said to be the biggest video game of the franchise yet, surpassing previous games, such as Solo Leveling: Arise and Solo Leveling: Arise Overdrive, and there are quite a few reasons for that. Gameplay-wise, it already seems to be the most intricate game among the three. It features Sung Jinwoo as the main character, with an additional cast made up of different Hunters and Jinwoo’s own Shadows.

But what’s really attracted fans’ attention is the new lore introduced by Karma. What’s more, all this lore will be considered directly canon to the Solo Leveling universe, as it’s created in collaboration with Chugong. The author has never previously touched any Solo Leveling game, so this makes Karma a standout addition. To be clear, Solo Leveling: Karma explores the 27-Year Monarch War. In the Manhwa and novel, this war acted as the epilogue of Solo Leveling, but was practically glossed over. We only know through the novel that Jinwoo traveled back to the past using the Cup of Reincarnation, with the help of the Rulers, and undertook the entire war from the very beginning. Jinwoo thus embarked on a 27-year-long war to kill every Monarch again. Details of this 27-year-long conflict are mostly unknown, and this is where Karma comes in to fill in the blanks.

Solo Leveling: Karma will likely have a new update in the upcoming month to finally confirm to us when the game will be released in South Korea and Japan in 2026. For the international release, which includes the U.S., a release date is likely to be given later down the line.