Crimson Desert has sold through 5 million copies since the game’s launch on March 19, developer Pearl Abyss announced Wednesday. The game’s success doesn’t come as much of a surprise; Crimson Desert had a massive response to its trailers, was one of Steam’s most-wishlisted games ahead of its release, and hit a peak of 276,261 concurrent players on the PC platform.
Earlier this week, Pearl Abyss unveiled a series of updates for Crimson Desert intended to address player feedback and deliver further improvements. Pearl Abyss plans to offer “expanded challenges, gameplay refinements and system enhancements,” which will be rolled out through June, aimed at “enhancing the overall player experience,” the studio said in a news release.
Crimson Desert is currently available for Mac, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X.
Polygon’s early impressions of Crimson Desert praised the game for the “immensity of [its] feature-packed open world,” but dinged the game for its emptiness. Crimson Desert “promises unlimited activities, but forgets that activities are supposed to be entertaining,” wrote critic Marloes Valentina Stella. Generally, critics were more favorable toward Crimson Desert; the game has a 78 Top Critic Average on OpenCritic.
For a look at what’s coming to Crimson Desert in the next few months, read on for Pearl Abyss’ promised updates.
New Content and Features
The upcoming updates will introduce content aimed at players seeking additional challenges:
- Boss Rematch and Re-blockading: Players will be able to re-challenge previously defeated bosses and liberated locations may come under blockade again, providing players more opportunities for battle.
- Difficulty Settings: Easy, normal, and hard difficulty options will allow players to adjust combat difficulty for their preferences.
Character and Gameplay Improvements
Enhancements are also planned to improve character balance and immersion:
- New Skills: Additional abilities will be introduced for characters Damiane and Oongka, aligning them more closely with the abilities of Kliff.
- Back Weapon Visibility Toggle: Players will be able to hide back-mounted weapons to maintain visual immersion during gameplay.
- Outfit Update: New character outfits will be introduced. Additionally, certain outfits previously limited to sale or donation will be updated to become equippable.
Expanded Systems and Quality-of-Life Updates
Several convenience features and system expansions are in development:
- Specialized Storage Systems: Food storage with direct access to cooking ingredients Wardrobe system for outfit and armor organization Gatherables storage for materials such as insects, stones, and ores Collections storage for quest items, recipes, etc.
- Pets and Mounts: New pets and summonable mounts will be added, along with expanded equipment options for mounts apart from horses
Technical and Visual Enhancements
The development team is also working on broader system and graphical improvements:
- UI Updates: Various UI elements improvements, including adjustable font sizes
- Control Improvements: Additional customization options for certain controller inputs and expanded configurable keys for mouse and keyboard controls.
- Improvements to Distant Scenery Quality: Improvements to the rendering of distant landscapes to enhance immersion.
Crimson Desert dev admits ‘we announced the game too early’
Sky-high expectations aren’t always a good thing
About the Author
