Ember Lab has moved Kena: Scars of Kosmora from its planned 2026 window to 2027. The studio also revealed more about Kosmora's elemental cultures, temples and crystalline canine companion.
Kena: Scars of Kosmora will not arrive in 2026. Ember Lab now plans to release its larger follow-up to Kena: Bridge of Spirits in 2027. The studio says it needs more time to polish the expanded adventure. The official PlayStation Blog describes it as a more ambitious continuation that still aims to keep the original's focus on its characters.
The delay
Game Writer Thomas Varga and COO Josh Grier confirmed the change in a new PlayStation Blog post. Ember Lab said the team has worked tirelessly since the announcement trailer in February. It wants the sequel to reach the quality bar it set for a larger follow-up.
The explanation points to polishing the expanded project as the reason for the new window. This is not a cancellation or an indefinite pause. The game is still in development.
Ember Lab continues to list the game for PlayStation 5 in both physical and digital editions. A digital-only PC release is also planned. A separate post on the official PlayStation Blog France confirms the same 2027 window and the same PS5 and PC release plan.
The timeline is simple. The original game launched in 2021. The sequel was previously expected in 2026. It is now planned for 2027.
Kosmora is built around four elements, four interconnected cultures and a network of Alchemystic Temples. The official descriptions present these as parts of the setting and story. They do not provide a firm breakdown of every gameplay system.
There is also a change in publishing. Scars of Kosmora is listed as a PlayStation Publishing title on Steam. Ember Lab published Kena: Bridge of Spirits itself. That makes the confirmed PC version notable, especially after Sony's recent retreat from bringing its single-player games to the platform. This project is still explicitly listed for PC.
Gematsu also identifies the game as a PS5 and PC release. Steam is mentioned as a PC storefront, while one summary also names the Epic Games Store.
Kosmora's buried past
Kena now has a harder job. She is an experienced Spirit Guide who combines combat with spiritual healing. When the dead cannot move on, their pain becomes Corruption. It spreads through the land.
Spirit Guides must fight toward the source instead of simply clearing away the symptoms. This context comes directly from the official PlayStation Blog France description of Kena's next journey.
The journey is personal, too. Kena has spent years helping spirits while avoiding what Spirit Guiding means for the living. She has also neglected her own pain.
Earlier material indicated that Kena is searching for a cure for an affliction of her own. Her childhood friend Orfio believes Kosmora holds answers for both of them.
The island is more than a group of abandoned ruins. Its ancient Spirit Guides developed practices based on the elements and Alchemystic Temples. Four cultures once flourished there, each following its own guiding element.
A mysterious cataclysm destroyed one of those cultures. The survivors were left with traditions whose spiritual meaning has faded into the past.
That lost knowledge is presented as a direct danger, not just background lore. The temples will work as complex dungeon spaces. They will test combat and problem solving, offer rewards that change Kena and push the adventure forward.
Kena will also pass through living communities with their own histories, values and struggles.
Companions and combat
Ember Lab still describes the game as a character-focused linear adventure. The larger island will give players reasons to leave the main route.
The official PlayStation Blog says the sequel will be broader and deeper than Kena: Bridge of Spirits without giving up its linear, character-led focus. Exploration will be helped by a crystalline canine companion. The ancient spirit is tied to Kosmora's origins. It can carry Kena, fight beside her and help solve Alchemystic puzzles.
The canine is more than a cosmetic mount. Kena can fight from its back or battle beside it on foot. The creature also adds new ways to travel and solve puzzles.
It is expected to be one of several elemental Spirit Companions found during the adventure. Each companion's abilities will develop as the story moves forward.
Those abilities will support combat, traversal and environmental puzzles. Ember Lab also mentions new elemental powers and Spirit Guide techniques that lead toward large boss encounters.
The available information does not establish the full progression system. It also does not say how many companions there will be or how each temple will differ.
The announcement gives players a clearer sense of the sequel without presenting a finished technical picture. Ember Lab has supplied no performance targets, resolution modes, PC specifications, pricing details or independent hands-on results. The material also does not show how close the game is to completion.
That makes the delay easier to understand. Anyone expecting the game next year will be disappointed. At the same time, Scars of Kosmora is trying to expand the first game's formula without abandoning its linear, character-led focus.
Until Ember Lab shows more of the build, cautious optimism is more reasonable than a final judgment.
A release window is not an exact launch date. The 2027 window does not identify a month or guarantee that every remaining milestone is complete.
The delay is still the right call if the larger world, elemental companions and temple systems need more work. A polished sequel is worth more than meeting an earlier target with unfinished edges.
For now, the PlayStation 5 and PC plan is confirmed. The design ambition is clear. The available evidence supports interest, but not hype.
