Some Crimson Desert players are reporting unusually blurry visuals on the PlayStation 5, including the more powerful Pro variant of Sony’s console. Although the exact scope of the issue remains unconfirmed, Crimson Desert developer Pearl Abyss has already shared one potential workaround that PS5 owners can try while the studio is looking into a permanent fix.
The South Korean studio’s second-ever title launched for PC and consoles on March 19. Pearl Abyss had long set high expectations for Crimson Desert‘s graphics, with multiple previews and trailers suggesting the open-world action adventure would rank among the most visually impressive AAA releases in recent years. As a result, Crimson Desert is already a strong contender to be one of 2026’s most graphically demanding games. Although console players should in theory be insulated from major issues stemming from a given title’s resource footprint, at least one notable technical problem has made its way into the day-one build of the hit game.
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Crimson Desert PS5 Version Has an Issue in 120Hz Mode
Within hours of the game’s release, some day-one buyers took to social media and Pearl Abyss’ official Discord server to report issues with Crimson Desert‘s PS5 performance. The complaints center on unusually soft image quality, with some players reporting textures so blurry that they significantly affect visual readability. The leading theory is that the issue is tied to the game’s 120Hz mode, a setting that the vast majority of affected users have in common. Pearl Abyss Marketing Director Will Powers subscribes to that theory, having responded to one March 20 complaint about blurry graphics by advising the affected player to disable the 120Hz mode.
Rearrange the covers into the correct US release order.
Rearrange the covers into the correct US release order.
Easy (5)Medium (7)Hard (10)
While there is no shortage of modern TVs and monitors that support a 120Hz refresh rate, not all can do so while also outputting a 4K image. Whether that poses a practical problem varies by game, which is why the PS5 lets users enable the “120 Hz Output” option under Video Output settings as long as their display supports that refresh rate at any resolution. Unlike many titles that require players to enable 120Hz in-game, Crimson Desert always boots in that mode when the corresponding setting found inside the Screen and Video menu is turned on. That can force the game to lower its resolution significantly if it determines that a given TV or monitor requires such a compromise.
Crimson Desert currently lacks an in-game 120Hz mode toggle, so the only way to test its blur issue fix is to disable 120Hz video in PS5 system settings, under Screen and Video > Video Output > 120 Hz Output.
Nevertheless, not all reports from Crimson Desert players describe the same issue, suggesting the PS5 problem may be more complicated than a single bad default setting. One Discord user said the game became blurry only during combat and otherwise looked sharp, while others reported noticeably low-quality textures at less predictable times. At least one user on the Pearl Abyss Discord server said the problem persisted throughout play, though that was not a universal experience. On the contrary, multiple player testimonies suggest notable issues don’t materialize until hours into the game.
How Crimson Desert Approaches Frame Pacing
In 120Hz mode, the PS5 version of Crimson Desert targets 40 frames per second in an effort to maintain even frame pacing. By repeating each frame three times, the game can deliver a noticeably smoother experience than 30fps while remaining significantly less demanding than 60fps. On displays that do not support 120Hz, most games fall back to 30 fps even if they can reach 40 fps, because the alternative would require uneven frame delivery that can cause inconsistent motion smoothness and microstutters.
Since Crimson Desert has been marketed as one of the more visually ambitious AAA games in recent history, it is potentially more vulnerable to image-quality issues affecting early player impressions. This is especially the case given that the problems with blurry visuals affect perfectly standard hardware that is the PS5, a system that the developers actively optimized for. Pearl Abyss has yet to provide a timeline for resolving the blur issue. If simply disabling 120Hz mode on unsupported displays proves sufficient, a fix could arrive relatively soon.
- Released
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March 19, 2026
- ESRB
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Mature 17+ / Blood, Drug Reference, Intense Violence, Strong Language
- Developer(s)
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Pearl Abyss
- Publisher(s)
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Pearl Abyss
