Anticipation is building for the return of Solo Leveling in 2026, with several exciting developments already in the spotlight. Initially, fans were abuzz with leaks and rumors hinting at a potential Solo Leveling movie. Adding fuel to the fire, producer Atsushi Kaneko has alluded to an “exciting” announcement for the series expected this year.

Despite the buzz, the most significant confirmed release is flying somewhat under the radar. The upcoming video game, Solo Leveling: Karma, slated for a 2026 release, will delve into the untold story of Sung Jinwoo’s epic 27-year battle against the Monarchs. As a thrilling bonus, the game will introduce the first new anime content for the franchise since the conclusion of Season 2 in early 2025, making it a highly anticipated treat for fans.

However, the one officially confirmed upcoming release for Solo Leveling to come in 2026 is the one fans should be most hyped about, yet they’re hardly talking about it. The canonical, untold story of Sung Jinwoo’s 27-year war against the Monarchs is set to finally be revealed in the new video game Solo Leveling: Karma. Best of all, the game will feature the first anime content the franchise has released since the end of Season 2 in early 2025.

Solo Leveling: Karma Will Have the Franchise’s Only Confirmed Anime Content Coming in 2026

While there’s plenty of time for another announcement to be made this year concerning Solo Leveling Season 3 or the heavily rumored movie, the reality is that Solo Leveling: Karma is the only officially confirmed place where fans can see new anime content featuring Sung Jinwoo in 2026 so far. That’s because the game is being produced in conjunction with A-1 Pictures, the studio that created that Solo Leveling anime.

A-1 Pictures is animating scenes specifically for the game, including the opening intro scene. Netmarble released a trailer in November depicting the opening sequence from the game animated by A-1 Pictures, and it already looks phenomenal. A-1 Pictures is not phoning it in at all with their work on this mobile game.

The Solo Leveling: Karma OP looks just as good as anything in the actual anime’s first two seasons. Interestingly, because Solo Leveling: Karma‘s storyline takes place at the very end of the manhwa, the opening sequence depicts many scenes expected to come in Season 3 and Season 4 of the anime. This includes the tragic passing of Gungee Go, the death of Sung Ilhwan, and the youthful form Sung Jinwoo is known to take on at the very end of the series.

Solo Leveling: Karma is Finally Fixing One of the Manhwa’s Only Real Flaws

Brett Cardaro

Solo Leveling gets a lot of criticism these days, and most of it is unwarranted. That’s just a consequence of mainstream international popularity. It’s fair to feel that the side characters don’t get enough development, or that Jinwoo gets too strong too quickly, but calling the series bad for those reasons alone is a purely subjective opinion.

On the other hand, there are real, concrete examples of genuine flaws in the source material, especially when comparing the manhwa to the light novel. One such flaw is that the ending of the series speeds to the finish line way too quickly, skipping crucial context and what are clearly powerful moments in Jinwoo’s story.

By far, the worst instance of this is the 27-year war Jinwoo fights against the Monarchs after using the Cup of Reincarnation at the end of the series. It felt like so much of Jinwoo’s journey was lost by skimming through that portion of his life, which could’ve easily made for an entire spin-off storyline of its own. Solo Leveling: Karma is finally bringing that 27-year battle to life with the first-ever canonical retelling of Jinwoo’s endgame battle against the Monarchs.

Anime Visuals Aside, Solo Leveling: Karma Looks Like a Lot of Fun For Fans of Jinwoo

Solo Leveling: Karma will be home to the only confirmed anime visuals for the series to be released in 2026, making this a huge deal for fans of Jinwoo’s story. While Solo Leveling: Arise did take a fun approach to its adaptation of the manhwa by including actual panels from the webtoon to tell its story, it seems Solo Leveling: Karma will be even more connected to the actual anime through its A-1 Pictures connection.

Solo Leveling: Karma has a lot going for it, and that’s all without even mentioning its actual gameplay, which will be a rogue-like, top-down action RPG along the lines of Hades and Diablo. That fits Solo Leveling’s aesthetic far more than the pure action of Solo Leveling: Arise, because Sung Jinwoo’s battles in Solo Leveling tend to be just as much about strategy and RPG-style character building as they are about pure hand-to-hand combat.

A lot of what made Jinwoo’s journey to level up in Solo Leveling so interesting is in following how he strategically allocated his stat points and skills, and then decided combat strategies in real time to cleverly outsmart his opponents. Jinwoo’s fight against Karglagen, the leader of the High Orcs, was so exciting because he couldn’t simply power through the battle by force. Instead, he had to strategically chip away at the dungeon bosses’ forces like a player in a tactical RPG.

Solo Leveling: Karma promises to give fans the first anime scenes in over a year, the first canonical retelling of Jinwoo’s 27-year war agains the Monarchs, and some of the most authentic Shadow Monarch action in any game released for the franchise so far. It’s a wonder that fans aren’t talking about it more.

Release Date

2024 – 2025-00-00

Network

Tokyo MX, Gunma TV, BS11, Tochigi TV

Directors

Tatsuya Sasaki, Toru Hamasaki

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  Genta Nakamura

  Yoo Jin-ho