Crimson Desert
Crimson Desert surpasses 3 million sales after rocky launch
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Pearl Abyss announced that its single-player RPG Crimson Desert has now sold over 3 million copies worldwide, just a week after launch. The studio pledged continued fixes for launch issues including Intel Arc GPU compatibility and control problems. User reviews have improved amid rapid patch deployments.
Pearl Abyss rolled out patch 1.05.00 for Crimson Desert starting May 2-3, 2026, across PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S, introducing Rematch boss replays and Re-blockade for sustained combat challenges in liberated regions. New legendary pets, gold bar fixes, UI/combat improvements, graphics upgrades, and bug fixes enhance the open-world action game, building on the recent update roadmap.
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Pearl Abyss has distributed a special bonus of 5 million Won, about $3,400 USD, to every employee following the strong sales of its action-RPG Crimson Desert. The game sold over 2 million copies in its first 24 hours and surpassed 5 million copies less than a month after launch. CEO Heo Jin-young announced the payout in an internal statement.
Alec Newman, the voice actor for Crimson Desert protagonist Kliff, described a five-year recording process marked by frequent changes and lack of direction. In a recent podcast interview, he recounted pushing developers to better define the character's story. The open-world RPG from Pearl Abyss has sold 3 million copies despite reported development challenges.
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Pearl Abyss deployed a major patch, version 1.01.00, for Crimson Desert over the weekend. The update adds five new summonable mounts, improves movement controls, and addresses numerous player complaints. It is available now on Steam, PlayStation, and Xbox, with Epic Games Store and Mac App Store versions to follow.
Two anonymous Pearl Abyss developers have claimed that Crimson Desert's development suffered from poor management and feature bloat. The allegations, shared on the Blind forum, describe an inverted hierarchy and leaders dismissive of differing views. The posts have gained traction on Korean social media.
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Developer Pearl Abyss has acknowledged using generative AI tools for early-stage 2D visual props in Crimson Desert, stating they intended to replace them before release. The studio apologised for unintentionally including some in the final version and for lacking transparency. It plans to audit assets and roll out replacements via patches.
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