The launch of Crimson Desert is looming, as one of 2026’s most anticipated releases is set to launch on Thursday, March 19, for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. While developer Pearl Abyss has shown tons of footage from the PC and PlayStation 5 Pro versions of Crimson Desert, many have been concerned that the game’s sheer ambition could result in some performance issues on the base PS5. Thankfully, after weeks of fan concerns, Pearl Abyss has now debuted new gameplay from Crimson Desert running on the console.
So far, 2026 has already seen the likes of Resident Evil Requiem, Nioh 3, and Marathon take over the gaming world, but there are still some massive releases yet to come, including Crimson Desert. After first being announced nearly seven years ago, Pearl Abyss once intended for its next title to be an MMORPG prequel to Black Desert Online. Development eventually pivoted, and Crimson Desert is now a standalone single-player adventure with a world larger than Red Dead Redemption 2 and twice the size of Skyrim. From jetpacks to dragons, Crimson Desert not only has a massive open world but also tons of gameplay features that make it one of the most ambitious games in recent years.
Crimson Desert Reveals Twitch Drops Rewards
Ahead of its launch on March 19, Pearl Abyss reveals some exclusive in-game rewards for Crimson Desert as part of its Twitch Drops promotion.
This Is How Crimson Desert Runs on Base PS5
Given the history of ambitious video game releases, like the infamous Cyberpunk 2077 disaster in 2020, gamers are rightly sceptical of such titles, especially given the restrictions of current-gen hardware. Pearl Abyss recently showcased the first Crimson Desert gameplay on the PlayStation 5 Pro, but many have since wondered whether the game runs as well on the console’s lower-end counterpart, the base PS5. Now, just days before launch, the official PlayStation Japan YouTube account has posted a 20-minute gameplay video as part of its Play! Play! Play! series. Fans have already pointed out that the footage itself is only captured in 1080p at 30 FPS, so it’s difficult to gauge true performance. But, nevertheless, despite the clear drop in visual fidelity compared to the PS5 Pro or PC version, there don’t appear to be any frame drops or severe performance issues like many seemed to be anticipating.
Pearl Abyss had previously detailed the full list of performance options for Crimson Desert on consoles. According to the studio, the base PS5 version of the game will come with three options: Performance, Balanced, and Quality. The former of the bunch will run at 1080p resolution with 60 FPS VSync / 60+ FPS VRR and low ray tracing, while Balanced will target 40 FPS VSync with upscaled 4K resolution and low ray tracing. Finally, Quality will once again be upscaled to 4K resolution, this time from 1440p instead of 1280p, and will instead have high ray tracing settings with 30 FPS VSync.
Further performance concerns were also raised by PC players last week when Pearl Abyss quietly added Denuvo to the PC version of Crimson Desert. For those who might not be aware, Denuvo is a third-party anti-tampering software often implemented by developers to prevent users from accessing certain game files and pirating the title. However, the software has been occasionally known to cause performance issues on select PC titles, often limiting FPS, especially on older hardware.
In response to these concerns, Pearl Abyss issued a statement on the Crimson Desert Denuvo controversy and revealed that all previously released gameplay footage had already had Denuvo implemented. The studio noted that reviewer benchmarks tested by the likes of Digital Foundry will be the same product shipped at launch and played by consumers.
- 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
