Pearl Abyss's marketing director Will Powers has addressed accusations that the studio is withholding console review codes for Crimson Desert ahead of its March 19 launch. Powers stated on social media that the team is not hiding information and plans to reveal more details in time for preorders. The controversy draws comparisons to Cyberpunk 2077's troubled console release in 2020.
Crimson Desert, an open-world action-adventure game from Pearl Abyss, known for MMOs, has generated significant hype through months of footage and features, including a positive pre-release assessment by Digital Foundry. The game is set for release on March 19 across PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S, with review embargo lifting on March 18, just 24 hours prior.
Review codes distributed this week are limited to the PC version, and multiple outlets report not receiving PS5 or Xbox Series X versions for testing. This has raised concerns among gamers and journalists, echoing the 2020 launch of Cyberpunk 2077 by CD Projekt Red, where console versions underperformed and were not provided for pre-launch reviews, leading to misleading aggregated scores on Metacritic.
Pearl Abyss has shared edited PS5 footage and hosted a content creator preview event with generally positive impressions, though not universally so. Earlier this month, the game surpassed 3 million wishlists on Steam, and the studio confirmed no AI voice acting will be used for NPCs.
On March 4, Will Powers, Pearl Abyss's PR and marketing director, responded on X to a user accusing the team of hiding console footage: "We're not hiding anything, and I'm sick of having to repeat myself. I've repeated 100s of times that we'll reveal things ahead of launch to give people adequate time to still preorder the game for themselves. We're saying this openly… Let us cook? Please and thank you. /rant."
In a follow-up Reddit post, Powers emphasized transparency: "People have the right to information to make an informed purchase. Simply put, that's transparency, and that's what we're promising. But people demanding information on their timeline is entitlement, and that needs to end."
Replies highlighted skepticism, with one from @videotechuk_ stating: "I think being transparent and giving reviewers keys to the console version would show some confidence." Others expressed worries about potential optimization issues, noting the lack of target framerate details less than three weeks from launch, and some are delaying console preorders until more footage emerges. Possible delays in console codes may relate to platform certification requirements for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.
