Solo Leveling’s Anime Breakout Expands Jinwoo’s Shadow Power Set

Solo Leveling started as a web series written by Chugong, but it’s the modern anime push—produced by A-1 Pictures and Aniplex—that turned it into a full-on global hit. One of the franchise’s core draws is how often Sung Jinwoo gets to flex in intense, episode-to-episode fights. The power ceiling comes from the System, which feeds him a growing toolkit of abilities. And once Jinwoo steps into his role as the Shadow Monarch, he can do more than fight—he can harvest the Shadows of the dead and recruit them into his own Shadow Army.

Solo Leveling: Arise update window, platforms, and editions

The franchise’s Korean debut dates back to July 25, 2016, with the manhwa adaptation arriving on March 4, 2018 via Redice Studio. The anime followed later, premiering on January 7, 2024. On the game side, Solo Leveling: Arise launched on May 8, 2024 for PC and mobile, published by Netmarble. After that, the game has kept rolling out content through ongoing updates—most recently highlighting a June drop featuring a new National Level Hunter, Liu Zhigang (Fire-type, Buster Class), plus additional story content and weapons. With June nearly complete, the next update is being positioned as the arrival window for Jinwoo’s next Shadow, Greed.

In Solo Leveling: Arise, new Shadows keep getting added for Jinwoo to recruit and use, and the game is continuing that trend with a new character that fans have been waiting for. One of Jinwoo’s most recognizable Shadows from the web novel and manhwa—one that hasn’t appeared in the anime yet—is finally making its way into the game. That Shadow is Greed, also referred to as the Shadow of Hwang Dongsoo.

Although Greed may not be the most frequently used Shadow in the manhwa, players should still pay attention to what’s coming to the game. The Shadow’s in-game kit and power set are being framed as among the strongest options so far, which makes the addition feel less like a deep cut and more like a meaningful upgrade for team building.

Greed’s backstory: Hwang Dongsoo’s grudge becomes a Shadow

Greed is the Shadow of Hwang Dongsoo, an S-Rank Hunter introduced during Solo Leveling Season 1. Dongsoo’s hatred toward Jinwoo goes back to the moment Jinwoo killed Dongsoo’s brother, Hwang Dongsuk. That conflict escalates in the International Guild Conference Arc, where Jinwoo ultimately defeats Hwang Dongsoo after Hwang is tied to torturing Jinho. The final consequence is that Hwang is turned into a Shadow, and that transformation is what leads to the creation of Greed.

For players who already saw Greed’s look in the source material, the game’s teaser doesn’t stray far. A preview of the new Solo Leveling: Arise Shadow shows a character design that matches the manhwa closely: a cracked skull-style face paired with a purple aura spilling from his body and face.

Greed’s kit also targets support and offensive output. His leader effect boosts Wind Damage for the entire team. Meanwhile, his skill set improves both the team’s critical hit rate and critical damage rate. Put together, those effects are positioned as major tools for players chasing higher burst damage and more consistent crit performance in Solo Leveling: Arise.

Alongside the Shadow addition, Jinwoo also gains a brand-new weapon called Razor Frost, described as having an “ultimate slash” style of power. For players planning builds around Greed’s team damage buffs, that weapon update is part of the broader push toward stronger offensive pressure.

Greed (Hwang Dongsoo) is expected to land in the next Arise update

Even with Greed’s design and abilities already revealed, many Solo Leveling fans have been asking when they can actually recruit him in Solo Leveling: Arise. At the moment, there’s no specific calendar date tied to Greed’s release. However, the expectation is that the Shadow is arriving very soon—specifically in the next update.

During a Solo Leveling: Arise livestream that took place on June 2, 2026, the team shared a Q&A where players directly asked about Greed’s release timing. The response was that Greed is in the final stages of development, and fans were told to anticipate him in the next update. If that development status was accurate in early June, then the timeline suggests Greed should be ready as the game moves into July. Since Greed wasn’t included in the June update that brought Liu Zhigang, the logical expectation is that he will show up either in July or as soon as the next update goes live.

Q: When will the new Shadow “Greed” be released?

A: It is in the final stages of development and should be released in the next update.

What other Shadow additions are coming for Jinwoo in Solo Leveling: Arise

Jinwoo’s power progression comes from System-granted abilities unlocked after he nearly dies in the Double Dungeon at the start of the story. After his fight against Igris, he levels up and gains the class “Shadow Monarch.” As the Shadow Monarch, he can raise the dead as shadow soldiers—loyal to him, each with their own rank and abilities. That Shadow-raising playstyle is supported in Solo Leveling: Arise, and while Greed is set to be the next recruit, the game already includes several other Shadows for players to unlock and use.

Igris is already present in the game as Jinwoo’s first Shadow. Other canon Shadows acquired through the web novel and manhwa storyline are also available, including Iron (extracted from Kim Chul), Tank (an Alpha Ice Bear), Tusk (formerly known as Kargalgan), Kaisel (the Wyvern of Bararn), Beru (obtained after Jinwoo killed the Ant King), and Jima (previously one of the Naga).

Non-canon Shadows, plus the most anticipated canon pick

Jinwoo’s roster in Solo Leveling: Arise doesn’t stop at canon Shadows, either—something that surprised parts of the player base. The game also includes non-canon Shadows that Jinwoo never acquired in the original series. These additional Shadows are listed as Blades, Uros, Skull, Beste, Bigrock, Cerbie, and Brute.

Some of these additions are framed as “unlikely” to have been extractable in the original story context, while others are tied to characters Jinwoo could not extract after three attempts. Even so, the game’s approach is meant to add variety and give players more options than the strict source material would allow. Looking ahead, more of these original-style Shadows are expected to keep arriving, alongside more canon recruits as the story expands.

One Shadow that’s being flagged as especially anticipated is Bellion, described as Jinwoo’s strongest Shadow, received from Ashborn. There’s also talk of temporary Shadows from the original series that could eventually be added permanently in Solo Leveling: Arise, including Kamish (the Ant Queen) and Min Byung-Gyu.

Source: Solo Leveling Arise Live Stream