News Toby Fox Shares Another Development Update On Deltarune Chapter 4

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It's been a while, but Undertale's Toby Fox is back with yet another newsletter update on Deltarune, this time delving into everything we need to know about the development progress on chapters 3, 4 and 5 (thanks, GoNintendo).

We know that Chapter 3 is pretty much complete (Fox confirmed this back in February), and it sounds like it's full steam ahead on the next two entries. In his latest newsletter, Fox states that Chapter 4 is "making great progress overall" and is "basically playable minus some polish". In fact, some of the team has moved to focus on Chapter 5, according to Fox.

So, does this mean that we can expect the next two chapters soon? No. No, it does not. As Fox notes in the latest update, "Actually, the release is still far away!!! We've gotten 3 months closer, but it's still far!!!". The creator puts this down to the pressure to ensure everything is perfect. As a paid release, it sounds like the team wants to double, triple check that the game is water-tight before releasing it out into the wild — and, with a "simultaneous console and PC release, in both English and Japanese" planned, that's going to take quite a while.

Here's what Fox had to say in full (via GoNintendo):

Hi everyone! DELTARUNE Chapter 4 is making great overall progress.
At the time of writing this (7-23-24)…
- All the maps are done.
- All battles are playable.
- Only 2 cutscenes need small improvements.
- One battle needs to be balanced and the visuals need to be completed.
- One battle needs a better background.
- Two battles are having their ending sequences improved.
- There's still some things to fix and places to polish.
- Three of my friends were able to play through the entirety of the unfinished Chapter 4.
All of them liked it and didn't have any major criticisms. Phew! (Except for one friend, who kept mentioning that I should name all of the chairs because the existence of "Chairiel" implies that all the other chairs should have names as well… I'm probably not going to do that…)
I'm not sure if Chapter 2 is still the longest chapter, but Chapter 3 & 4 together are definitely longer than Chapter 1 & 2 combined. Thinking about that is kind of crazy…
Initial development of Chapter 5 is also progressing steadily. Most of the team is still focusing on Chapter 4, but a few people are going ahead and creating an initial draft of Chapter 5's maps, working on bullet patterns, etc.
SO WHAT?
Chapter 4 is basically playable minus some polish!! So, it must seem like Chapter 3&4 are going to come out really soon, right!?
…
Actually, the release is still far away!!! We've gotten 3 months closer, but it's still far!!!
Why!? How does that horrible, despair-inducing, teeth-gnashing-fact that keeps me up at night, make any sense at all!? I want them out NOW!!!
Well… I'll tell you!
WHAT'S LEFT BEFORE RELEASE!?
That's right!!! CREATING the chapters is only the first step!
RELEASING the chapters… is a whole other ordeal.
It wouldn't be such a big deal if the game was free… But since this is going to be our first big paid release since UNDERTALE, we really have to take the extra time to make sure it's perfect!
Our goal is… simultaneous console and PC release, in both English and Japanese!
So… what do we have to do?
Well… It's long, so click below if you're curious!!!
Quests to Release Chapters 3 & 4
Thank you guys so much for your patience!! I am monumentally thankful to everyone still waiting while we get over this final hill before the release of 3 & 4!
With the progress on Chapter 5, I'm feeling confident that once Chapter 3 and 4 come out, the release schedule for the following chapters will be a lot smoother!! It's still going to take a good while to get there, but once we do, you'll never have to wait so long for a Chapter ever again!

So, there you have it. Perhaps not the news we all wanted to hear, but the knowledge that we won't have to wait this long again is welcome.

If you have yet to try out Deltarune Chapters 1 and 2, you can download them for free on the Switch eShop.