When it comes to the most exciting MMORPGs of the future, Chrono Odyssey must not be missed. In this article, MeinMMO summarizes what is known about the new online role-playing game for Steam, PS5, and Xbox Series.
What do I need to know about Chrono Odyssey? Here first are the most important general details about the new MMORPG from Chrono Studio and publisher Kakao Games:
- Planned Release: Q1 2027 (worldwide simultaneous launch, all updates are also to be provided globally)
- Confirmed Platforms: PC (Steam and Epic Games), PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series
- Engine Used: The world of Setera is being created in Unreal Engine 5
- Next Milestone: The developers are currently working on implementing feedback from the past testing phases. When the next test in the West will take place is unclear.
- Type of MMORPG: A mix of theme park and sandbox, with a strong focus on PvE content for solo players and small groups of 3, 5, or 10 players (PvP exists but is intended to be optional)
- Payment Model: There is no information yet about the price. According to the developers, they aim to monetize through cosmetic items and a Battle Pass. There will be no Pay2Win elements.
- Supported Language: German interface and subtitles, English voice acting
In the following, we will go into much more detail. Through our table of contents, you can jump to the chapters that interest you:
A first impression of Chrono Odyssey is given by this trailer:
The Highlights of Chrono Odyssey
What makes Chrono Odyssey special? Thanks to numerous play reports, it is now quite clear how the new MMORPG plays in the “Early Game”. One important discovery is that, although a South Korean studio is behind Chrono Odyssey, the game differs significantly from many other representatives from this region:
- The diverse character creation is free from gender lock. You can freely choose your gender, regardless of which class you want to play.
- The game does without daily tasks and pure mob grind. The time of the players is to be valued.
- The focus is clearly on PvE, with PvP intended only to be an optional side feature.
- The setting of the world is unusually dark, mixing fantasy with sci-fi and cosmic horror.
- There are no random components in the crafting or upgrading of gear and weapons that could feel punishing – see for yourself:
The developers themselves like to refer to Chrono Odyssey as an open-world action online RPG. From this designation, further important pillars of the game arise:
- Open World: The developers promise a vast, open world without loading screens. Exploring the regions should feel rewarding. Due to the absence of a minimap, you will mainly need to orient yourselves using a compass and the many “Points of Interest”. The developers cite the Interlands from Elden Ring as a model.
- Action: The action-packed combat system is intended to feel dynamic due to the close third-person perspective and to work equally well with mouse and keyboard or gamepad. Each class chooses 2 out of 3 weapons, between which they can flexibly switch in combat. Targeted dodging or blocking enemy attacks is critical. The difficulty level is intended to be demanding. Some players felt reminded of the alpha from New World or a Souls title.
- Online RPG: Although many contents can be completed solo or with one or two friends, thousands of other players populate the world of Chrono Odyssey. You can form guilds, with the communities offering only a social network. No exclusive guild content is planned.
What helps when exploring the game world: Your character is quite agile, has a double jump, and can swim. There is also a parkour/climbing system similar to Black Desert.
What about the Chronotector? This artifact allows you to manipulate time in Chrono Odyssey. You unlock skills for the Chronotector through mastered Chaos Gates. Moreover, the tool has its own talent tree, in which you can unlock upgrades. Already known time manipulations:
- You can freeze enemies and thus fight them safely for a short time.
- It is possible to rewind time to reverse maneuvers. For example, you can jump down from a height onto a target, only to hop back to safety afterward.
- You can summon a being from another time that will fight by your side.
- You can manipulate time to float through the air or make a significant leap to overcome high obstacles.
As for the effects of time on the world, the RPG classic Chrono Trigger is an important inspiration for the team. In Chrono Odyssey, you will also use time to prevent a cataclysmic event.
The 6 Classes of Chrono Odyssey and Character Progression
During character creation, you can choose from the following 6 classes (note that only a part of the archetypes will be available in the closed beta):
- Berserker – Chain Blades, Twin Axes, Battle Axe
- Swordsman – Greatsword, Sword and Shield, Dual Blades
- Ranger – Bow, Crossbow, Rapier
- Paladin – Spear, Halberd, Mace
- Wizard – Staff, Mana Sphere, Grimoire
- Assassin – Saber, Wrist Blades, Musket
Each class should have at least one weapon with which it can deal good damage. However, there are also weapons that allow you to fulfill the roles of a tank or healer. For now, the Paladin will be the only archetype that can fill all three roles of the holy Trinity.
According to the developers, the weapon skills often serve multiple functions, allowing them to be situationally utilized to get the most out of them.
It is also already clear: each weapon has its own talent tree, making it possible to play very different builds. All activities (including resource gathering) reward experience points. By the way, leveling the gathering skills only affects the speed and efficiency of the harvesting.
Do I have to fight? There are no peaceful classes like Cartographer or Trader. However, according to the developers, you have the choice of obtaining the equipment you are interested in through combat content or crafting. There is not supposed to be one best possible way for character progression, but multiple equally valid alternatives – and that also in the endgame.
The Activities of Chrono Odyssey
Expect no flood of quests in Chrono Odyssey that will send you to every corner of the game world and keep you busy around the clock. You will have to decide for yourself which activities you want to participate in to prepare for the next mandatory content.
Mandatory content includes the Chrono Gates, where you must overcome tough bosses one-on-one. The first Chrono Gate awaits you very early in the game and has cost testers numerous deaths. So don’t take this challenge lightly!
In addition, the following contents have also been confirmed for Chrono Odyssey:
- World Quests: Tasks that you can receive in the open world, aimed at both solo players and groups.
- Dynamical Events: In the world, there may be world events where you have to fend off monster attacks or complete other tasks.
- Trials: Solo players will find not only fights but also traps, puzzles, and random mechanics often linked to time manipulations. You will choose between several doors without knowing exactly what awaits you behind them.
- Expeditions: These are dungeon challenges for 3 players.
- World Bosses: Special adversaries in the open world, for which you should bring a full group or even more allies.
- Void Nexus: These areas are corrupted and must be tracked down and cleansed by 5-player groups. You will have to go through several phases and constantly fight spawning enemies.
- Labyrinths: You reach these through rifts in time and space, where special challenges await you, emphasizing area exploration, overcoming obstacles, and discovering secrets.
- Time Portals: With these, you and your 3-player group will switch to the past, giving you access to rare materials and items connected to the world’s history. Sometimes you will have to fend off waves of enemies or defeat bosses.
- Bounty Hunt: Objective-based quests for the open world, where you should track down a specific enemy, eliminate it, and bring its head to the client.
- PvP: PvP is active in clearly defined areas. There should be no reason for pure PvE fans to enter these areas. Additionally, it is possible to activate PvP in the world and engage in duels.
- Eden: An endless PvEvP content where you must fight through a region, earn loot, and safely carry it out – like in an extraction shooter. The dangers there, as well as other player groups and the constantly ticking timer can throw a wrench in your plans. It’s up to you how far you venture. The greater the risk, the higher the potential reward. But you could also lose everything.
- Crafting: Reminiscent of New World. You can gather all associated resources with any tool quality – it just takes a long time to fell a huge tree with a poor axe. Fishing is also part of the life skills.
Current Issues of Chrono Odyssey
Testers of the last playable version of Chrono Odyssey identified a range of areas that the developers should revisit before the release. These include:
- Partially, the character models in the game are significantly uglier than in character creation. Moreover, the graphics do not deliver what the trailers promised.
- There are still many graphic errors, especially with the lighting in some regions. Some areas are far too dark, while others are unpleasantly brightly lit or the screen flickers all the time.
- The enemies, however, move very jerkily and laggy at times, which can make the fights feel suboptimal. Additionally, their animations appear to be oddly throttled and uneven. The basic performance is also a problem.
- The Ranger still needs a lot of work: The range of the bow is unusually low, and normally clear hits miss the target. The latter is all the more frustrating because headshots reward with increased damage.
- The sound effects of the crossbow and rapier seem inappropriate. The hit feedback is mixed; at times, attacks feel very powerful, while at others, enemies do not react at all.
- Many of the activities are still not optimal. The character is not mobile enough for the many traps in the mazes; in a trial, you might also encounter a boring pool full of sharks that can be easily avoided.
- The balance of the difficulty level is mixed. It starts off very challenging but becomes easier due to better equipment and level-ups. The first Chronogate may deter many players.
We will keep this article up to date from now on, so you can always find the most important information about Chrono Odyssey here. The good news: The developers have heard the feedback and created a long list of to-dos. This ultimately resulted in the only right decision: One of the biggest MMORPG hopes of 2026 has been delayed again, it won’t come this year, and that’s exactly right
