Pearl Abyss' Crimson Desert has sold 2 million copies since its March 20, 2026 release, achieving a peak of 240,000 concurrent Steam players. However, players report clunky controls, technical glitches, and suspected AI art, leading to Mixed Steam reviews. The developer promises improvements while players praise features like carrying cats.
Crimson Desert, a single-player action RPG spin-off from Pearl Abyss, launched on March 20, 2026, selling 2 million copies in its first day. The game reached a concurrent player peak of 239,045 to 240,000 on Steam, currently ranking sixth with 115,545 players, behind titles like Counter-Strike 2 and Dota 2. Steam reviews stand at Mixed, with around 60% positive from over 13,000 ratings, reflecting divided opinions after weeks of hype that saw it top Steam sellers pre-launch and gain a 30% Game of the Year chance on Kalshi before dropping to 5% post-reviews. Metacritic scores sit at 78 for reputable critics, though Pearl Abyss' stock fell 30% post-launch, and a last-minute Steam update added Denuvo DRM. Pearl Abyss shared, 'Thank you so much to our fans... We will listen closely to the wide range of feedback... doing our utmost to make the journey ahead even more enjoyable.' PR director Will Powers addressed controls: 'think of it like riding a bike, it comes naturally after you learn it. just takes a minute.' Common complaints include 'shockingly bad' and 'clunky' controls, confusing mappings for looting and NPC interactions, sluggish gameplay feel, disjointed graphics, repeated assets, poor base PS5 performance, and bloated systems. Technical issues hit Intel Arc graphics cards ('The graphics device is currently not supported'), Xbox App PC launches (workaround: boot offline), and 120GB Xbox Series X/S patches. Base PS5 users note performance dips, while UI scaling lacks options. Some suspect AI-generated art in paintings, like a centaur-filled scene shared by Lex Luddy and a woodcut by Reddit's Ok-Error-403, potentially violating Steam's 2024 disclosure rules—no confirmation from Pearl Abyss, which did not respond to requests. Positives highlight cat interactions: players can pick up, carry, and pet cats, earning Steam praise like 'I picked him up and was able to walk around... This game is great' and '10/10.' A day-one patch (1.00.02) fixed issues like bear instant-kills and added tutorials, but not controls.