Moon Studios, the creative force behind the acclaimed Ori series, has announced that the full launch of its upcoming action‑RPG, No Rest for the Wicked, will now take place in March 2027. The game originally entered early access in April 2024 with a planned 1.0 release for October 2026, but the studio has decided to extend the development timeline to ensure the final product meets the lofty expectations they set for themselves and their fans. As of July 2026, No Rest for the Wicked has already moved more than two million copies, a testament to the strong interest generated during its early‑access phase. Despite this commercial success, Moon Studios says the title is "close" to a finished state, but they refuse to settle for anything less than perfection before the official 1.0 launch.
"The honest truth is that we're a small team, and we're holding our games to a standard we won't compromise on," the studio explained in a statement. "The extra time will help us improve performance, tighten the class system, and polish the whole game to the standard you all deserve. We'd rather take a few more months than ship something that we know isn't quite perfect yet." The delay will also allow for additional closed and open beta rounds in the months ahead, giving the community more opportunities to test new features and provide feedback.
An open beta is slated for December, and participants who purchase No Rest for the Wicked before January 1, 2027, will be rewarded with a special Founders Pack as a thank‑you for supporting the game during its early‑access period. PlayStation enthusiasts can look forward to pre‑order options beginning in January 2027, which will also grant access to the same Founder’s Pack rewards. This coordinated rollout aims to keep the excitement high across all platforms while the development team fine‑tunes the experience.
In a separate video posted on YouTube, studio founder Thomas Mahler gave a candid look at the internal challenges the team has faced. He described the past months as a "mad dash" to incorporate additional content, finalize the class system, and integrate all of the planned 1.0 features.
"We've been playtesting a lot, and the truth is simply that we're not quite there yet," Mahler said. Mahler traced the project’s origins back to 2016, when the first prototypes of No Rest for the Wicked were sketched out. Over the ensuing years, the team has iterated on the game's core mechanics, narrative arcs, and visual design, gradually shaping it into the ambitious title it is today.
"Given we're in the last couple of months, we would just like to take that extra time to make sure that we land this plane safely and that we don't ship with any silly little bugs left," Mahler added. The studio’s commitment to quality is rooted in a broader philosophy about what a "generational" game should represent. Moon Studios wants No Rest for the Wicked to be remembered as a landmark experience that stands out in a crowded market, rather than a rushed product that merely meets a deadline. "We want everybody to have a wonderful experience and ship something that is one of those generational games that only comes out every so often," Mahler concluded.
From a technical perspective, the additional development window will be used to address performance optimization across a range of hardware configurations, ensuring smooth frame rates and stable load times on both current‑generation consoles and PC. The class system—one of the most anticipated features—will receive further balancing to provide distinct playstyles without any class feeling underpowered or overpowered. This involves extensive data analysis from beta feedback, as well as internal playtests to fine‑tune skill trees, cooldowns, and synergy between abilities.
Narratively, the team plans to expand side‑quest content, deepen character backstories, and add optional lore entries that enrich the world without forcing players into mandatory exposition. These enhancements aim to reward exploration and give long‑time fans of the Ori universe additional layers of meaning to uncover.
Community involvement remains a cornerstone of Moon Studios' development approach. The upcoming open beta will be open to anyone who signs up, offering a hands‑on look at the evolving state of the game.
Players will be able to submit detailed bug reports, suggest balance tweaks, and vote on which optional features they find most compelling. This iterative feedback loop is expected to shape the final 1.0 build significantly. In summary, while the postponement pushes No Rest for the Wicked’s full release to March 2027, Moon Studios believes the extra months will yield a more polished, performant, and content‑rich experience. Their dedication to a non‑compromising quality bar, combined with a transparent development process and active community engagement, suggests that the final product will likely exceed the high expectations set by the early‑access community and the studio’s own legacy of excellence.