Netmarble showed Solo Leveling: KARMA at Tokyo Game Show 2026, running a media showcase on September 17 at Makuhari Messe before opening the show floor to a playable demo through September 21. Pre-registration went live a day earlier, on September 16, in South Korea and Japan on both the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store.
Netmarble is building the biggest manhwa-turned-anime property of the last few years around the one stretch of Sung Jinwoo's life the original story never showed.
A 27-year war the manhwa never showed
KARMA is set during what Netmarble calls the Monarch War, a 27-year conflict Jinwoo lives through after the Cup of Reincarnation sends him back in time. None of this happened in the source manhwa or its anime adaptation. It's original material fit inside established canon, giving Netmarble room to introduce new threats and side characters without contradicting the ending fans have already read.
That choice separates KARMA from the wave of anime tie-in gacha games that mostly restage familiar scenes with better character art. Netmarble is building a prequel-adjacent war story it can expand across updates without running out of source content to adapt.
Combat plays out in isometric hack-and-slash form. Jinwoo swaps weapons mid-fight between daggers, a scythe, and a bow, each with its own dodge timing and counter windows. Players also field Jinwoo's Shadow Army directly. Iconic Shadows like Iron and Igris fight alongside the player with their own signature combos, closer to a controllable squad than a passive support call-in.
Progression leans roguelite. KARMA replaces fixed character builds with "Blessings," temporary buffs that reshape skills, stats, and combat style on a per-dungeon-run basis. The TGS demo carried more than 200 buff types and eight playable characters, giving attendees a sense of how varied a single run can get before the meta shakes out post-launch.
Pre-registration rewards, and what's still missing
Pre-registration in Korea and Japan comes with a fixed set of day-one rewards for players who sign up before launch:
- Sung Jinwoo Predator outfit
- Shadow Monarch Halo decoration
- Monarch's Box
- Hunter's Box
- Secret Support Card
Netmarble confirmed KARMA is headed to both mobile and PC, continuing the publisher's pattern of cross-platform launches for its bigger licensed titles. Netmarble hasn't announced a firm release date. Its own roadmap still points to a launch sometime within 2026, but Tokyo Game Show came and went without Netmarble locking in a month, let alone a day.
Monetization is the biggest open question. Netmarble hasn't confirmed whether KARMA runs on a traditional gacha system with character banners and pity, leans cosmetic-only, or lands somewhere in between. Netmarble didn't address monetization at TGS 2026, so treating either outcome as settled would get ahead of what the publisher has said.
What comes next
The TGS demo gives outside press and attendees the first hands-on read on how the weapon-swapping and Blessing systems feel in motion, feedback that shapes balance passes before a wider beta. With pre-registration running in two of Netmarble's core markets, the next checkpoints are a confirmed release window and a straight answer on how the game plans to make money. Solo Leveling's built-in audience will show up regardless; whether they stay depends on both.
