Toby Fox has provided an update on Deltarune Chapter 2. Fox says the next chapter in the game is progressing at a "good pace" and that a basic outline of the entire game has been sketched out.
When is the Deltarune Chapter 2 release date?
In the update, which was posted on the official Undertale website, Toby Fox gives a rough estimate as to when we might expect Chapter 2 of Deltarune. Fox says that his team has been working on the second chapter of the game since March 2019, but that its current form took shape around May this year, and that he believes he and his colleagues can complete the chapter "content-wise, before the end of the year". It's worth noting that Fox isn't including bug fixes, translation, and porting to different platforms within that estimate.
Along with this rough time window, Fox also provides numbered estimates as to how each element of Deltarune Chapter 2 is going. He says that the "main design" - dialogue, narrative, et cetera - is 100% complete, as is the "initial setup" (setting up staff, allocating debug tools, and other administrative tasks). Various other parts of the game range between 0% complete to 90% complete. You can check out the full chart here:
What is causing Deltarune Chapter 2 delays?
The original Deltarune Chapter 1 was released way back on Halloween 2018. Since then, Fox says he's "spent the past two years writing, composing, designing, and drawing". Originally, Fox wanted to seek an alternative engine to GameMaker, which was used to develop Chapter 1. However, a few months ago, this aspect was scrapped, and Fox and his team returned to using GameMaker. He estimates that around "99% work" was spent on investigating alternatives to GameMaker in Deltarune Chapter 2's original development cycle.
In addition to software woes, Fox also says he's suffering from a wrist and hand-related disability which makes working on Deltarune difficult. Around five months ago, Fox says his wrist "was the worst it's ever been"; he couldn't play piano or use a mouse and keyboard, instead undertaking work via speech-to-text programs. Since then, "weightlifting, exercise, and various equipment" has allowed Fox to increase the stamina in his wrist "to an extent". He now needs to take frequent breaks when working with a mouse and keyboard and would "really like to take physical therapy" once the world situation improves.
Dare we dream of Deltarune Chapter 3?
Well, surprisingly enough, yes. Fox also provided a similar chart to the one above, but for Chapter 3 of Deltarune. Since the team will be using Chapter 2 as a basis for chapters going forward, several key elements are either complete or close to complete, including general story concept and dialogue, cutscene dialogue, and conceptual enemy design. Take a look at Toby Fox's progress percentages for Deltarune Chapter 3 and beyond:
If you think you can contribute to Deltarune's ongoing development, Toby Fox and his team are currently looking for some additional staffers. They ask that you have the following:
- experience in the game industry
- experience working under NDA (non-disclosure agreement)
- professional references
- a degree of creativity while "also being okay with just following instructions"
- fluency in English
In addition, Fox is looking for the following staff positions to potentially be filled:
- music transcription/basic arrangement (part-time)
- bullet pattern programming
- minigame programming
If you want to send your resume to Fox and the Deltarune developers, you can do so right here. In the meantime, it sounds like work on Deltarune Chapter 2 is progressing at a smooth pace. Hopefully, it won't be too long before we can play the game. Deltarune Chapter 1 is currently available for free on PC, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch. We'll keep you posted on Chapter 2's progress and availability.
Are you looking forward to playing Deltarune Chapter 2? Let us know in the comments below!
