Saw: Genesis Early Access Delayed From 2026 to Q1 2027, Bloober Team Says
Saw: Genesis won’t be sneaking into Steam Early Access before Halloween after all. Bloober Team, together with developers Anshar Studios and Broken Mirror Games and franchise rights holder Lionsgate, confirmed the 3v1 asymmetrical horror game has slipped from its original 2026 window to the first quarter of 2027.
The teams say the extra months are going straight into fixing problems flagged during closed testing. Anshar Studios, Lionsgate, Broken Mirror Games, and Bloober Team have announced that the early access release has been delayed to Q1 2027 for PC via Steam, after recent testing and player feedback identified areas for improvement, including performance. As a result, the studios decided to extend development.
Reaction to the delay split fast between relief and frustration, with some fans welcoming the extra polish and others just tired of waiting for a firm date:
Playtests found “specific notes” on performance
According to the developers, this wasn’t a case of the game falling apart in testing. The team said it has tested Saw: Genesis under a variety of conditions in recent months while collecting player feedback, and alongside positive responses, the developers received specific notes concerning parts of the game and their performance. The additional development time will be used to address that feedback ahead of the Early Access launch.
In a statement carried by Read Dork, the studio put it plainly: “We know the wait will be longer than expected, but we believe SAW: Genesis will be better for it,” thanking players for their patience. The team also stressed it still wants the finished product to feel like a proper entry in the Saw series rather than a reskinned asymmetrical shooter. The team also reiterated that it wants the project to work as a multiplayer horror game while remaining faithful to the Saw franchise.
What Saw: Genesis actually is
For anyone who hasn’t followed the reveal, Saw: Genesis isn’t set in the movie timeline you know. It’s built around 3v1 matches on procedurally generated maps, with one player taking on the Judge, an early architect of Jigsaw’s philosophy, while three others play the Accused, attempting to escape a deadly labyrinth through teamwork and sacrifice. The Judge isn’t some unstoppable slasher either. The Judge shapes each trial from behind the scenes using perks and traps, but rather than relying on brute force, the role is physically vulnerable, making planning and manipulation central to its approach.
Bell has voiced Jigsaw since the original 2004 film, and his involvement here is one of the bigger signals that Lionsgate wants this treated as canon-adjacent rather than a licensed cash-grab. Tobin Bell, who has portrayed John Kramer/Jigsaw since the first Saw film in 2004, will appear in the game, and Bloober Team chief executive Piotr Babieno said the multiplayer format was intended to extend the franchise’s focus on moral choices into a shared setting driven by player interaction and consequence.
No fixed date yet, playtests still running
The studios haven’t nailed down a specific week or month within that Q1 2027 window. Bloober Team has not announced a precise Steam Early Access date beyond Q1 2027, but says further updates on SAW: Genesis will follow as development continues. Closed testing hasn’t stopped either. A Steam community post for the game noted the second closed alpha playtest phase and confirmed player access to an updated build was being restored on 23 September, with a further playtest phase due to start the following week, wishlist page live now for anyone tracking it.
If you ask us, the timing makes this an easy delay to defend. Saw: Genesis is walking into a lane already owned by Red Barrels’ Outlast Trials, and a buggy or unclear launch would have handed that comparison to critics on a plate. Better to eat a few months of “still no date” headlines now than a wave of refund threads in November.
Bloober’s busy 2027 slate
Saw: Genesis isn’t the only thing on Bloober’s plate slipping into 2027. The studio is also publishing Star Trek: Shadow Frontier for Paramount Games Studio next year, alongside its ongoing work with Konami on a Silent Hill remake announced back in June 2025. Between Cronos: The New Dawn shipping last September and these two 2027 projects, Bloober is juggling more simultaneous horror and licensed titles than at any point in its history.
Read also: Diablo 5’s “Terror Forming” Is Blizzard’s Fix for Diablo 4’s Stale Open World
Wishlist numbers aside, the real test for Saw: Genesis will be whether Early Access players find matches that feel tense rather than just gory. Expect the next concrete update, likely a firmer date inside that Q1 2027 window, once the current playtest wave wraps.
Join the Conversation