Kena: Scars of Kosmora Delayed to 2027 as Ember Lab Reveals a Larger World and Magical Mount

Kena's next adventure will not launch this year after all. Originally unveiled in February with a 2026 release window, Kena: Scars of Kosmora has officially moved to 2027. Ember Lab confirmed the change in a PlayStation Blog update published on October 1.

The studio says it needs additional development time to achieve its quality goals. The ambition is to create a substantially larger experience than Kena: Bridge of Spirits, the team's 2021 debut, while preserving the elements that made the original distinctive.

This is not a cancellation or an indefinite disappearance. Kena: Scars of Kosmora remains announced for PS5, in physical and digital editions, and for PC through digital distribution. No specific release date within 2027 has been confirmed.

An Experienced Kena Must Confront Her Own Past

The original game followed a young Spirit Guide helping the dead find peace. Its sequel returns to Kena at a different stage of her life.

She has become an experienced practitioner, capable of confronting the corruption that appears when spirits remain trapped in their suffering. However, her growing expertise has revealed important limitations.

Kena has devoted years to helping others without fully addressing her own pain. That personal conflict becomes a central starting point for the new adventure.

Her childhood friend Orfio believes the mysterious island of Kosmora may hold answers. Kena travels there hoping to understand her past and discover what her future as a Spirit Guide might involve.

The sequel therefore develops an existing theme from Bridge of Spirits: suffering affects the living as well as the dead, and helping others does not necessarily resolve one's own struggles.

Kosmora Will Be Larger Than the Original Game's World

Ember Lab promises a more ambitious adventure, but makes an important distinction. Kena: Scars of Kosmora remains a character-focused linear game.

It should not automatically be described as a fully open-world experience. Instead, the studio is expanding its environments and providing more opportunities to explore beyond the main route while maintaining a directed narrative structure.

Kosmora features multiple regions inhabited by cultures with distinct histories, values and challenges.

Long ago, four interconnected civilizations flourished on the island. Each was associated with one of four guiding elements. A mysterious cataclysm eventually destroyed one of those cultures, disrupting Kosmora's ancient balance.

Exploration will gradually reveal the island's history. Yet Kena's journey is not solely about discovering lost civilizations. She will also meet living communities whose contemporary struggles are connected to the island's forgotten past.

Elemental Temples Drive Progression

Alchemystic Temples are among the most significant new features described by Ember Lab.

These ancient structures are connected to the spiritual practices developed by Kosmora's earliest Spirit Guides. They combine the four elements with systems that Kena must learn to understand.

The studio describes the temples as dungeon experiences, challenging players' abilities while offering transformative rewards that advance Kena's journey.

The announcement does not identify every unlockable ability or explain the complete structure of each temple. It does establish their importance to exploration and character progression.

The concept follows a familiar action-adventure principle: explore a location, learn its rules, overcome its challenges and emerge with new possibilities.

A Spirit Mount With Multiple Uses

One of the sequel's most distinctive additions is Kena's new companion, a large crystalline canine spirit closely connected to Kosmora's history.

The creature can be ridden as a mount. This addition makes sense given the expanded environments, which Ember Lab says would take considerable time to cross on foot.

However, the companion is more than a means of transportation. It also supports Kena during combat, both while mounted and on foot.

Its powers help solve Alchemystic puzzles, suggesting that it will play a meaningful role across several parts of the adventure.

The developers have not yet explained every rule governing the companion or precisely how its abilities will develop.

Elemental Abilities Expand Combat

During the original announcement, Ember Lab explained that Kena would need to master a forgotten form of Spirit Guiding based on alchemy and elemental powers.

That change follows a pivotal encounter in which a powerful spirit shatters her staff, an essential instrument of her work that was also helping keep her alive.

To survive and continue her journey, Kena must learn to manipulate the elements and cooperate with new spirit companions.

The studio is promising deeper combat through elemental skills, spirit abilities and additional tactical choices against challenging enemies.

Companions will also develop new powers as their bond with Kena grows stronger.

These mechanics have so far been described through official announcements. Their depth and balance will become clearer when the game is available to play.

Why Ember Lab Needs Until 2027

The developer's official explanation centers on the need to polish an adventure substantially larger than the original game.

Ember Lab points to the expanded world, deeper exploration and its desire to deliver an experience that builds meaningfully on its 2021 release.

The announcement does not provide specific details about internal development difficulties or commercial strategy changes. It would therefore be premature to attribute the delay to any particular technical problem.

The confirmed situation is straightforward: the team needs more time to complete and refine its work while maintaining plans to launch next year.

A Physical PS5 Release Is Planned

The October 1 announcement also confirms the intended distribution formats.

Kena: Scars of Kosmora is planned for both physical and digital release on PlayStation 5, with a digital PC edition also announced.

The developers have not provided an exact date, pricing details or information about special editions in this update.

Players can currently add the game to their PlayStation wishlists.

Ember Lab's latest presentation offers a clearer picture of the sequel's direction. Kena is no longer simply helping spirits find peace; she must also understand her own history. With elemental temples, lost cultures and a crystalline companion, Kosmora is designed to expand both the story and the gameplay. Whether those ambitions succeed will become clear when the game arrives in 2027.