Illuvium Release Date: Warwick Moves Obelisk Rising Past December

There is no new Illuvium release date yet. Kieran Warwick says pay cuts and a smaller team now give the studio money until at least October 2027.

A character in dark armour stands beside a blue and green four-legged creature in front of a wall of stacked purple crates, with a drone hovering between them.

Illuvium’s new game, Obelisk Rising, will not launch in December 2026 as planned. Kieran Warwick, Illuvium’s co-founder, gave the news in a Town Hall video the project posted on X on the 11th of November 2026. The game is the MMO that Illuvium’s posts also call Overworld. As he explained it, December was never picked because the game would be ready. It was picked because the company expected to run out of money in January 2027. [1]

Pay cuts and a smaller team have changed that, by Warwick’s account. The team is down from about 150 people to around 35 to 40. The money now lasts until at least October 2027, even with no revenue. The extra time will go into polishing the game, and there is no new month yet. [1] Since Warwick’s last update on the money, on the 21st of August 2026, ILV has fallen 12.9%, from $3.1882 to $2.7763 on the 11th of November 2026.

A character faces a large creature outlined in blue and green in a jungle clearing, with the words Start Boss Fight on screen.
A boss fight in the build Illuvium is now polishing instead of launching in December, from a clip posted on the 23rd of October 2026 (Obelisk Rising, on X)
Daily closes for ILV over the 34 days to the 11th of November 2026, with the swing envelope.
  1. 1. 16 October 2026. Illuvium Arena Update 1.18.9 Lets Exsolve Steal From Allies
  2. 2. 19 October 2026. Live X Broadcast Carries Round of 16 Matches
  3. 3. 26 October 2026. Illuvium Opens Nominations for Five ILV Council Seats
  4. 4. 11 November 2026. Illuvium Town Hall is live 🎙️ @KieranWarwick covers: • Why Obelisk Rising is moving past
ILV: daily closes and the levels it turned at: data table
DateILVFloorCeiling
2026-10-093.953.153.94
2026-10-104.003.153.90
2026-10-113.973.163.86
2026-10-123.833.163.82
2026-10-133.653.163.78
2026-10-143.523.163.74
2026-10-153.473.163.70
2026-10-163.373.173.66
2026-10-173.403.173.62
2026-10-183.173.173.58
2026-10-193.283.153.54
2026-10-203.423.133.50
2026-10-213.463.103.46
2026-10-223.233.083.43
2026-10-233.233.063.41
2026-10-243.113.033.38
2026-10-253.083.013.35
2026-10-263.072.993.33
2026-10-273.112.973.30
2026-10-283.112.943.28
2026-10-292.902.923.25
2026-10-302.952.903.22
2026-10-313.082.873.20
2026-11-012.992.853.17
2026-11-022.882.833.14
2026-11-032.952.813.12
2026-11-043.092.783.09
2026-11-052.862.763.09
2026-11-062.902.743.09
2026-11-072.832.713.09
2026-11-082.692.693.09
2026-11-092.802.693.09
2026-11-102.752.693.09
2026-11-112.782.693.09

What we have published before

Since our article of the 26th of October 2026, ILV has fallen 9.6%, from $3.07 to $2.78 on the 11th of November 2026. Since our article of the 16th of October 2026, it has fallen 17.7%, from $3.37. Since our article of the 30th of September 2026, it has fallen 28.0%, from $3.86.

What the token actually does

ILV is the governance token.

ILV holders elect the Illuvinati Main Council, five members who debate and vote on changes to Illuvium. Council members are paid in ILV. [5] Holders can also stake ILV, which now runs on Base, a separate network. They have to move their ILV there first. Stakers earn ILV from Illuvium’s revenue. In 2025, Illuvium said those payouts would only resume once a reserve called the Safety Pool was full. Stakers also collect seasonal points called Shards, which rank them on leaderboards. [6]

ILV’s linked game is Illuvium: Zero, which is free to play. Players claim land, build an industrial base and harvest Fuel. In the Town Hall, Warwick said the team had not worked on Zero “for like a while now, like a long while now”. [1]

Performance and holder count

Performance

Illuvium’s token fell 4.2% in the three months to the 11th of November 2026. The wider gaming market fell 4.6% across the same window.

  • In the week to the 11th of November 2026, the token fell 10.1%. The wider gaming market fell 6.8%.
  • That week it ranked 68th of the 140 gaming tokens trading over $5,000 a day that fell.
  • It trades 99.9% below its all-time high, set in November 2021. The wider gaming market is 95% below its own.
ILV against Gaming Token Index – Composite over the 92 days to the 11th of November 2026.
ILV and Gaming Token Index – Composite, day by day: data table
DateILVGaming Token Index – Composite
2026-08-12100.0100.0
2026-08-1398.296.9
2026-08-14107.294.0
2026-08-15103.090.8
2026-08-16106.290.8
2026-08-17102.789.8
2026-08-18100.488.3
2026-08-19107.191.0
2026-08-20110.195.1
2026-08-21117.0102.0
2026-08-22115.4101.8
2026-08-23116.7101.8
2026-08-24113.9100.8
2026-08-25110.198.8
2026-08-26110.198.8
2026-08-27110.8101.1
2026-08-28103.299.8
2026-08-29106.3100.2
2026-08-30106.799.9
2026-08-31104.298.6
2026-09-01104.998.2
2026-09-02104.898.1
2026-09-03109.4101.8
2026-09-04106.499.5
2026-09-05109.4101.6
2026-09-06113.5101.6
2026-09-07115.3103.0
2026-09-08112.6102.9
2026-09-09111.5101.5
2026-09-10106.897.7
2026-09-11106.998.5
2026-09-12131.799.5
2026-09-13122.2100.9
2026-09-14122.4101.3
2026-09-15113.497.1
2026-09-16111.896.4
2026-09-17116.199.8
2026-09-18121.4105.2
2026-09-19122.3107.2
2026-09-20120.2106.4
2026-09-21127.4112.9
2026-09-22132.9114.7
2026-09-23125.1111.9
2026-09-24131.4114.7
2026-09-25134.6118.1
2026-09-26137.4118.7
2026-09-27139.6120.3
2026-09-28128.6114.8
2026-09-29133.5116.5
2026-09-30133.2112.3
2026-10-01135.2114.3
2026-10-02134.3120.3
2026-10-03140.8124.5
2026-10-04142.7127.6
2026-10-05141.2127.6
2026-10-06141.5124.8
2026-10-07133.9121.3
2026-10-08131.5117.3
2026-10-09136.3119.7
2026-10-10138.0122.0
2026-10-11137.0122.2
2026-10-12132.2118.9
2026-10-13125.9116.5
2026-10-14121.6111.8
2026-10-15119.7111.8
2026-10-16116.4110.4
2026-10-17117.2110.0
2026-10-18109.5104.4
2026-10-19113.4106.9
2026-10-20118.1110.2
2026-10-21119.5114.6
2026-10-22111.5105.4
2026-10-23111.5106.6
2026-10-24107.4103.7
2026-10-25106.4102.3
2026-10-26106.1102.3
2026-10-27107.4103.1
2026-10-28107.3104.5
2026-10-29100.0100.6
2026-10-30101.7101.7
2026-10-31106.5103.5
2026-11-01103.4104.0
2026-11-0299.5100.5
2026-11-03101.7100.9
2026-11-04106.6102.4
2026-11-0598.697.1
2026-11-06100.298.3
2026-11-0797.996.9
2026-11-0892.994.2
2026-11-0996.795.2
2026-11-1094.994.8
2026-11-1195.895.4
How far the token and Gaming Token Index – Composite moved over each window, to the 11th of November 2026.
ILV against Gaming Token Index – Composite: data table
WindowILVGaming Token Index – Composite
1 year-72.62%-66.65%
6 months-45.17%-33.25%
3 months-4.15%-4.64%
1 month-27.49%-19.82%
ILV over the week, beside the gaming tokens trading over $5,000 a day that moved most in the same direction rather than the ones closest to it.
ILV against the biggest movers in its group: data table
TokenReturn
ILV-10.1%
BCAT-78.6%
BTY-77.2%
PDA-70.5%
PLAY-51.4%
QORPO-36.6%

Holder count

  • Holders on Ethereum rose by 4 to 52,868 between the 4th and the 8th of November 2026, a change of less than 0.1%. From the 1st of September to the 8th of November 2026, the span the chart below covers, they went from 53,234 to 52,868, down 0.7%.
Holder count for Illuvium on Ethereum, from the 1st of September to the 8th of November 2026.
Illuvium: holders on Ethereum from the 1st of September to the 8th of November 2026: data table
DateIlluvium on Ethereum
2026-09-0153,234
2026-09-0253,235
2026-09-0453,225
2026-09-0553,226
2026-09-0653,194
2026-09-0753,190
2026-09-0853,192
2026-09-0953,197
2026-09-1053,160
2026-09-1153,163
2026-09-1253,168
2026-09-1353,136
2026-09-1453,148
2026-09-1553,149
2026-09-1753,174
2026-09-1853,178
2026-09-1953,175
2026-09-2053,163
2026-09-2353,126
2026-09-2552,761
2026-09-2652,714
2026-09-2752,719
2026-09-2852,715
2026-10-0252,715
2026-10-0352,727
2026-10-0652,723
2026-10-1052,700
2026-10-1152,696
2026-10-1752,698
2026-10-1852,696
2026-10-2152,723
2026-10-2252,733
2026-10-2352,760
2026-10-2452,762
2026-10-2552,763
2026-11-0252,825
2026-11-0352,832
2026-11-0452,864
2026-11-0852,868

More on the story

The delay had a second reason besides money. Illuvium had done very little marketing for the game and released no trailers, so a December launch worried Warwick. The incoming council heard first that it would not be December, and its members were relieved. The next playtest would bring a rebuilt menu and screen layout, more work on combat, and better onboarding, quests and story. Its date was to come at the next developer chat. [1]

A game menu titled Vendor, Surplus Recovery Unit, showing a selected item called Breacher Armor.
The rebuilt vendor menu, part of the screen and menu overhaul due in the next playtest, from a clip posted on the 19th of October 2026 (Obelisk Rising, on X)

Back in August 2026, the co-founder had put Illuvium’s money at more than 12 months. The new date assumes no revenue at all, a case he called “probably very unrealistic or pessimistic”. By his account, the first release of Overworld made over $2 million in its first couple of months. At $200,000 a month from the new game, Illuvium would no longer be spending more than it earns. [1]

Illuvium also got the economics of the original Overworld wrong when it launched, according to Warwick. The new game lets players treat the crypto parts as an option. A trailer has been ready for about 12 months and would come out closer to release. Gameplay clips had moved to a separate X account as an experiment that did not work, and they would go back to Illuvium’s main account. [1]

A character fights in an icy cave, with red damage numbers and blasts of light around them.
A solo dungeon fight in the current build, from a clip posted on the 23rd of October 2026 (Obelisk Rising, on X)

References

  1. ↑ (Kieran Warwick, Illuvium’s co-founder, in Illuvium’s Town Hall video on X, the 11th of November 2026) Source
  2. ↑ “Illuvium Opens Nominations for Five ILV Council Seats” (our own coverage, the 26th of October 2026) Source
  3. ↑ “Illuvium Arena Update 1.18.9 Lets Exsolve Steal From Allies” (our own coverage, the 16th of October 2026) Source
  4. ↑ “Illuvium Staff Take Another Pay Cut to Build the Overworld MMO” (our own coverage, the 30th of September 2026) Source
  5. ↑ “Council Epoch” (Illuvium whitepaper) Source
  6. ↑ “Illuvium Staking V3 – A New Era of Staking on Base” (Illuvium, 2025) Source

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Games in this story

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