The First Descendant’s 2026 roadmap delays Season 4 to summer, but major updates are still coming

In their December Season 3 Episode 2 preview livestream, Nexon shared The First Descendant’s 2026 roadmap. The biggest news from the roadmap is that Season 4 is delayed all the way to summer, meaning it will release between June to September. It’s a long wait, but thankfully, major updates will fill the gap, including the release of new Descendants to add to the game’s stacked roster of playable characters.

Regarding why Season 4 is delayed, the game’s creative director, Min-Seok Joo, is translated as saying via community manager, Jason Lee, that Nexon are “reorganizing The First Descendant’s core loop and strengthening its content”. The development team have also “decided it would be better to invest more in the game’s completion through reorganization before moving on to the next stage”.

One of the biggest upgrades to anticipate is for the current weapon system. Joo says Nexon are “preparing a new weapon system, and plan to release Transcendent-tier weapons that can be enjoyed primarily through farming”. This new weapon system is coming because Nexon believes the current system involving “research, readjusting, and augmentation cores feels monotonous to core players and is also difficult for new players”.

Another incoming overhaul concerns The First Descendant’s farming loop. Producer Beom-Jun Lee is translated as saying Nexon are “preparing a major overhaul of the entire farming experience across all difficulty levels beyond hard difficulty”. The team’s plan is to allow you to choose what you farm through the Operation Command system.

The First Descendant 2026 roadmap

Below is The First Descendant’s 2026 roadmap:

Season 3 Episode 2 – January:

• Breach Tracking Field
• Monthly Balance: Enzo
• Monthly Balance: Weapon Improvements

Season 3 Episode 3 – February:

• New Descendant – Dia
• Operation Detective System
• Arche Tuning (Mutant Cell System) Renewal
• Legion Lab Dungeon
• Onslaught Mode (Beta)
• Research Time Boosting Event
• Stat Info Display Improvements
• Descendant Mission Dashboard
• Undersea Base Dungeon
• Second Boost Pass
• New Weapon/Module
• Monthly Balance: Weapon and Descendant Improvements
• Void Abyss Monthly Rotation

Season 3 Episode 4 – May:

• Onslaught Mode (Official Release)
• Difficult VIB Renewal
• Farming Loo Renewal
• Optimization Setting Option Addition
• Ult Esiemo
• New Weapon/Module
• Monthly Balance: Weapon and Descendant Improvements
• Void Abyss Monthly Rotation

Season 4 – Summer 2026:

• Karel’s Final Battle
• Mega Dungeon
• Transcendent Weapon Release
• New Descendant
• Ultimate Hailey
• Main Story Overhaul

Season 3 Episode 2 started in November, collaborating with the Bayonetta series from SEGA. As part of the crossover, Nexon added Bayonetta’s famous skintight black leather outfit, plus her Rapunzel-esque long black hair and stylish shades. The update also added a new playable character, Harris, who is a Toxic, Tech and Fusion type skill DPS Descendant and does not use MP.

On December 4, Nexon is adding The First Descendant’s newest Ultimate, Yujin. Update 1.3.12 additionally releases Christmas skins for Viessa, Freyna, Gley, and Serena, available to buy from the in-game store. Viessa’s skin is a “cozy sweater” with a “Nordic pattern,” Freyna’s outfit is inspired by Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and Serena is The Nutcracker. Gley’s outfit is a cozy holiday sweater, too.

Season 3 Episode 2 also added a trading system. Right now, trading is only possible through spending gold. Nothing is official as it’s not mentioned in the roadmap, but Nexon has let it be known they will “decide on” item-to-item trading after monitoring the performance of the current trading system.