One Year Later, Deltarune Chapter 5 Hits June 24

Three years between Chapters 1 and 2. Four years between Chapter 2 and Chapters 3 and 4. And now, just over twelve months later, Deltarune Chapter 5 has a release date. Toby Fox announced during today's Nintendo Direct that the next installment arrives June 24 at 8:00 a.m. PT as a free update across PS5, PS4, Switch, Switch 2, and PC via Steam.

That pace is shocking for a series that had trained its audience to measure waits in years, not months. Fox has historically been open about how ports and platform obligations ate into development time, so seeing Chapter 5 land this quickly suggests something has changed in his pipeline. I'm impressed, and I think anyone who's been following Deltarune's glacial rollout should be too.

The trailer, shown during the Direct, deliberately holds back. Fox explained in a newsletter that he avoided showing the most exciting moments because he wants to surprise players, "which is the opposite of what you should do in a trailer." What it does show leans heavily into flower-themed enemies and motifs, which lines up with a long-running fan theory that Chapter 5's Dark World takes place in Asgore's flower shop. Fox himself described the chapter's tone as a deliberate contrast to Chapter 4's darker turn: "Let's turn around and watch the sun, before it goes down completely. Let's smile again. Let's have one more fun adventure, okay?"

As with every chapter after the first two, Chapter 5 is a free update for anyone who already owns the game. If you haven't bought in yet, purchasing Chapters 3 and 4 locks in every future chapter at no additional cost. In an era where most studios would sell each episode separately, or bundle them into a season pass, Fox's approach remains refreshingly player-first.

Perhaps the most eyebrow-raising detail came from Fox's development update on Chapter 6. Normal enemies and bullets are mostly complete, boss work is underway, and he described the chapter as "easier to make than the others." He went further: "This sounds crazy, but it's not unrealistic that some staff members may start working on Chapter 7 before the end of the year." Deltarune is expected to run at least seven chapters total, and if Fox maintains anything close to this cadence, the finish line might actually be visible for the first time.