Killing Floor 3 Release Date Postponed Further into 2025 After Closed Beta Disappoints

The much-anticipated survival horror zombie co-op FPS, Killing Floor 3, has been delayed to a later date in 2025. This unexpected announcement came just three weeks before the game's originally planned launch on March 25th, following a disappointing closed beta phase. Dive deeper to understand the reasons behind this delay and what it means for fans eagerly awaiting its release.

Killing Floor 3 Delayed For Later 2025 Release

Cites Disastrous Beta Test Phase

On March 7th, 2025, Tripwire, the developer behind Killing Floor 3 (KF3), took to the game's official Bluesky account to share the disheartening news. The team cited a recent closed beta test as the catalyst for pushing back the release to an unspecified date later in 2025. The beta feedback highlighted several areas where the game fell short of expectations, prompting the need for further refinement.

"We’ve made the decision to postpone Killing Floor 3’s launch to an undecided date later in 2025. After taking the time to gather and discuss feedback from our recent closed beta, we’ve realized that we missed the mark. Our goal isn’t just to make Killing Floor 3 an ambitious step forward for the franchise, but also to maintain the core experience that you’ve come to know and love," Tripwire stated in their Bluesky post. They acknowledged issues with performance/stability, UI/UX, lighting, and weapon feel, assuring fans that the team is actively working to address these concerns.

The gaming community's reaction was swift and vocal, with many expressing their frustrations across social media platforms. Players described the beta build as "insanely clunky and clumsy," and an "unpolished, glitch-ridden, vomit-inducing wreck." On Reddit, a user named Captain_Pugman criticized the developers, stating, "At what point did you forget what made Killing Floor special? Because right now, Killing Floor 3 looks like it’s trying to be everything except the one thing it should be: a Killing Floor game." Additional feedback pointed out the shift towards a more futuristic sci-fi theme, which seemed to dilute the horror elements fans cherished, alongside the inability to freely choose characters and classes separately due to character-locked classes during the beta.

Tripwire concluded their announcement on an optimistic note, promising, "We look forward to another opportunity to show you a more polished version of Killing Floor 3, and when we’re ready to share more details, you will be the first to know. Until then, we thank you for your continued patience and overwhelming support."

Pre-Orders Will Be Refunded Automatically Except For Steam

In response to the delay, Senior Community Manager Yoshiro provided detailed information on the Tripwire Interactive Killing Floor 3 forums about what would happen to digital pre-orders. Once the delay is officially updated across all platforms, the refund and cancellation processes will commence.

For users on PlayStation, Xbox, and the Epic Game Store, pre-orders will be automatically canceled and refunded without any action required from the user. However, PlayStation users in the United States will have the option to either cancel their pre-order for a refund or keep it for the new release date. If no action is taken within a specified timeframe, the pre-order will automatically be canceled and refunded.

Steam users, on the other hand, will need to manually initiate a refund by canceling their order through the Steam support system. Those who pre-ordered through third-party platforms or vendors not mentioned will need to coordinate directly with those services and will be subject to the respective refund policies of those platforms.