Publisher Netmarble and developer Netmarble F&C have delayed free-to-play open-world action RPG The Seven Deadly Sins: Origin from its previously planned January 28 release date to March, citing closed beta test “feedback that was far more extensive and in-depth than our development team had anticipated.” It will be available for PlayStation 5, PC via Steam, iOS, and Android.
Here is the full note from Netmarble on the delay:
In early November, many of our Star Guardians joined us in Britannia through the Closed Beta Test (CBT).
Although the test period was short, we received feedback that was far more extensive and in-depth than our development team had anticipated. And most importantly, we were truly grateful to see in the CBT survey that the majority of participating Star Guardians responded that they intend to continue playing after the game’s official launch.
In addition, many of you shared positive impressions across our core content, including the graphics, story, and combat.
In particular, you gave us very positive feedback for the game’s faithful recreation of the original anime, the enjoyment of open-world exploration, the story presentation that deepens immersion in the world of Britannia, and the distinctive dynamism of tag-based action, noting that these elements exceeded your expectations.
Alongside the positive feedback, we were also able to identify a wide range of suggestions from those who hope to see the game continue to improve. Beyond the feedback you shared through the community and surveys, we have also been closely observing Star Guardians’ gameplay firsthand at various demo events, carefully reviewing where any points of friction may remain.
As we reviewed your feedback, we closely examined the moments during combat and exploration where you hesitated or repeatedly experienced discomfort, as well as instances where controls did not respond as intended. Based on the points where your feedback aligned with what we observed through actual gameplay, we conducted an internal review.
As a result, we have summarized the key areas for improvement that were most consistently identified through the CBT as follows:
- Controls – Feedback that character handling felt somewhat unresponsive, and that movement and targeting were inconvenient.
- Combat System – Feedback that the difficulty felt excessive, and that combat tempo and skill response speed were too slow.
- User Interface / User Experience – Feedback that the menu structure was complex, making it difficult to find desired features intuitively.
As these points were raised by many Star Guardians, we focused our internal review and discussions on the areas outlined above and potential paths for improvement.
While some areas could be addressed relatively quickly, we concluded that many others would require more than simple numerical adjustments. They called for a broader reexamination of the game’s overall structure and improvements at the system level.
As a result, our development team spent a great deal of time considering the balance between ‘releasing the game according to the originally planned schedule’ and ‘delivering a more complete experience through meaningful improvements’.
In the end, we determined that fundamentally addressing the issues we had identified was the most important priority. In order to meet the expectations of our Star Guardians, we have made the decision to adjust the official launch schedule to March.
We sincerely apologize for not being able to meet you as promised in January. That said, we will continue to give our utmost effort throughout these additional two months to ensure that this time becomes a period of preparation through which we can deliver a higher level of quality in return.
A more in-depth overview of the key improvements Netmarble plans to make can be read seen in the newly published “Developer Notes #5” on the game’s official website.