Crimson Desert: Release Date, Trailer, Gameplay and Everything We Know

Pearl Abyss, developers of popular MMO Black Desert Online, will launch a new RPG called Crimson Desert.

This stunning RPG mixes single-player with online multiplayer, with players taking the role of Macduff (yes, really), who fights to reclaim his land.

There are PvP and PvE elements, with dungeons to explore, puzzles to solve, and mythical creatures to slay (and ride).

Here's everything we know.

Latest News

July 29, 2021 -

The Crimson Desert development team has announced that they've pushed back the launch of the game indefinitely. A message released on the games official Twitter channel can be found below:

Since Crimson Desert's gameplay trailer reveal last year, the response we recieved from the community has been a huge soucr of encouragement for our team. We would like to thank you for the amazing support and enthusiasm you've shown for our reveal.

We are currently hard at developing Crimson Desert, which is rapidly evolving with new adventures and exciting experiences. However, we have decided that we need to dedicate more time to add new ideas for ad even deeper, more enriching game. Therefore, to create the best possible experience, all the while ensuring the health and safety of everyone involved in delivering the game, we decided to delay Crimson Dessert’s release. We will provide an updated schedule in the future.

Thank you for your ongoing support. We wish you and your loved ones the best of health, and we'll keep working hard so that we can meet all of you soon in Pywel - The Crimson Desert Team

What is Crimson Desert?

According to the development team, Crimson Desert will not be an MMO and for those curious, no its development won't affect Pearl Abyss' other IP, Black Desert Online.

Speaking to The Gamer, Pearl Abyss America CEO Jeonghee Jin explained that "Black Desert and Crimson Desert are two separate projects." before then delving into what will set the new game apart from Black Desert:

"The Crimson Desert announcement has had little impact on Black Desert development. Black Desert devs still continue updating content with the same cadence and they’re very much focused on the community’s feedback. Also, as we don’t define Crimson Desert as an MMORPG – which Black Desert is – so we’ve set different benchmarks and goals for the two titles."

Crimson Desert Release Date

Crimson Desert was originally slated for release in 2021, with a tentative Winter launch window.

However, in July the developers announced that they had decided to delay the release of the game. At the time of writing, there is no updated release schedule for the game, but it is safe to assume that it will be at some stage in 2022.

Crimson Desert Trailer

Pearl Abyss released a stunning reveal trailer for the game at The Game Awards.

It's not finished, of course, but the world of Pywel looks impressive nonetheless.

Crimson Desert Platforms

The footage above was captured on PC, but the team has promised a console port, too.

While Black Desert Online is great on PC, the console port is respectable, too – even with the complex inputs an MMO requires.