The study of gene regulatory networks (GRNs) is fundamental to the understanding of evolutionary dynamics and artificial life modeling. This paper presents an integration of a GRN into the NK-fitness landscape model and explores the impact of sparsity on epistasis and pleiotropy. As sparsity augments, gene interactions diminish, expectedly leading to a reduction in both epistasis and pleiotropy. Our findings corroborate the model’s response to such perturbations, demonstrating its potential for investigating a range of GRN adaptations within the NK-fitness landscape framework.