The wait for Deltarune is basically a rite of passage at this point. If you’ve been following the Toby Fox saga since 2018, you know the drill. We get a massive drop of lore, some of the best music in gaming history, and then... we wait.
But with the landscape of the game finally shifting toward its latter half, the question on everyone's mind is no longer just "when," but "how much?" Honestly, the answer is more concrete than it used to be, though Toby still loves to leave us breadcrumbs instead of a full loaf.
The Magic Number: Is It Seven?
Basically, yes. If you open the chapter select screen in your copy of the game right now, you’ll see seven slots. It’s been that way since the Chapter 1 demo. Toby hasn’t hidden this. It’s right there in our faces.
While some fans have dug into the game files and found references to "Chapter 0" or even potential placeholder data for up to ten chapters, the official roadmap has consistently pointed toward a seven-chapter arc. Think of it like a week in Hometown. Seven days, seven chapters. It fits the narrative rhythm perfectly.
We are currently sitting in a very interesting spot in history. As of June 5, 2025, Chapters 3 and 4 officially dropped. They arrived as a paid package for $24.99, which also includes the first two chapters. If you’re playing on the Nintendo Switch 2 or PC today, you’ve likely already seen the ending of Chapter 4 (no spoilers here, but wow).
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What Toby Fox Has Confirmed About the Future
Toby is surprisingly transparent in his newsletters, even if he speaks in "Annoying Dog" riddles sometimes. In the Winter 2025 newsletter, he was pretty blunt: Chapter 5 is deep in the "polish and localization" phase.
Here is the current state of play:
- Chapter 5: Confirmed for a late 2026 release. Toby mentioned it's "very likely" to hit in the second half of the year.
- Chapter 6 & 7: These are the final frontier. The team is already shifting focus to Chapter 6 as we speak.
- The Price Tag: This is the best news for your wallet. If you already paid for the Chapters 1–4 bundle, every single chapter from here on out—5, 6, and 7—is a free update. You buy the game once, and you’re locked in for the finale.
It's a weirdly generous move. Most studios would charge $15 per "DLC," but Toby basically said he only feels right charging for what is currently playable.
The "Chapter 0" and "Chapter 10" Rumors
Look, I get it. We love a good conspiracy theory. When people saw "Chapter 10" in the code years ago, the community went nuclear. But having "slots" in the code for ten chapters is usually just a developer being safe. It's much easier to have extra slots and not use them than to try and force a new one into a rigid engine later.
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There's also the "Chapter 0" thing. Most experts and data miners agree this was likely a testing environment. It’s not some secret prequel where we play as a younger Asriel. Well, probably not. With Toby, you can never say never, but from a production standpoint, seven is the number he’s building toward.
Why the Wait Between Chapters is Shrinking
It took ages to get Chapters 3 and 4. Years.
But things are different now. Toby expanded the team significantly. He even hired a professional producer to manage the workflow. In the Autumn 2024 updates, he noted that the "creative hurdles"—the stuff that makes you stare at a blank screen for months—are mostly behind them. They know how the story ends. They know how the mechanics work. Now, it’s just about building the assets.
Honestly, the jump from Chapter 2 to Chapter 3 was the hardest. Now that the engine is optimized for the "game_change" function (which allows the game to swap between chapters seamlessly), the pipeline is faster.
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What to Do While Waiting for Chapter 5
If you've finished Chapter 4, you're probably itching for more. Since we know there are only seven chapters total, every new release feels like we're getting closer to saying goodbye to Kris, Susie, and Ralsei.
Don't just sit there. Go back and check your "Save File" status. Did you find the Shadow Mantle? Did you deal with the secret bosses like Jevil or Spamton? These optional encounters are almost certainly going to change the dialogue—or even the ending—of Chapter 7.
The best way to stay updated is to subscribe to the official Undertale/Deltarune newsletter. It’s where Toby drops the real progress bars. Based on the current trajectory, we’ll be playing Chapter 5 by the time the leaves turn red in 2026. After that, it’s just the final two-chapter stretch to the end of the legend.
To stay prepared for the release of Chapter 5, make sure your current save file is "perfected" by defeating the secret bosses in Chapters 1 through 4, as these choices are flagged in the game's data and will likely influence the final three chapters. Keep an eye on the official Fangamer newsletter for the specific 2026 release window announcement, which is expected to drop during the summer.