Crimson Desert Studio Promises Continued Support As Long As There's Demand

Crimson Desert studio Pearl Abyss discusses its plans for continuing to keep the game updated based on player demand while also calling the strategy a good way to promote the game outside traditional marketing. With a lot of pre-launch excitement, things didn’t initially start off as expected for Crimson Desert, as many of its reviews were more mixed than anticipated.

However, instead of panicking about the slower than expected start, Pearl Abyss seemingly got to work. Impressively, Pearl Abyss continued to release major updates, nearly on a weekly basis, to address pain points. In just a matter of weeks, Crimson Desert resolved many of its launch issues, causing the game’s sales to skyrocket, user reviews to improve, and its player base to continue to climb. The rapidfire updates and patches continued well into the next month, with the support impressing many of its players.

Crimson Desert May Be Getting DLC, According to Devs

During its financial report briefing, Pearl Abyss addresses the future of Crimson Desert, teasing DLC and exploring more ways to broaden the game.

As part of Geoff Keighley’s Summer Game Fest, Pearl Abyss’ PR & Marketing Director Will Powers discussed the studio’s policy on keeping the game updated. Considering Pearl Abyss has a background in MMO-style games like Black Desert, the studio decided to take that approach with Crimson Desert, giving its players consistent updates and free content. The strategy not only rewards the community of players, but it also has another effect on the game and its overall visibility.

What’s That Weapon?

Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.

What’s That Weapon?

Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.

Easy (7.5s)Medium (5.0s)Hard (2.5s)Permadeath (2.5s)

The constant updates and new content getting added helps promote the game through a sustained player base and, in terms of platforms like Steam, keeps Crimson Desert higher up on the charts. Essentially, it’s free marketing as the game continues to be visible on the charts, meaning the studio can instead spend money on creating new content rather than on advertising. Powers went on to say that without the community, there wouldn’t be a Pearl Abyss or any of its games, so, from the studio’s perspective, they live and die by the fans.

This strategy is no accident, as Pearl Abyss intentionally avoided creating a post-launch roadmap for Crimson Desert early on. The focus on “player first” updates saw the company prioritize feedback directly from fans, targeting the biggest areas that needed adjustments or focus. Rather than create dates that were set in stone or presuming to know what players wanted, putting the community first not only helped keep up the positive word of mouth, but also quickly addressed various issues players had with the experience, such as the control scheme or a lack of endgame content.

Who’s That Character?

Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.

Who’s That Character?

Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.

Easy (7.5s)Medium (5.0s)Hard (2.5s)Permadeath (2.5s)

With the major issues now resolved, Pearl Abyss has been able to give fans a proper roadmap of content for Crimson Desert, highlighting the things the studio is working on in the next few months. While the studio has confirmed a bigger DLC expansion in development, not much else is known. For now, the studio is looking to continue improving the game’s story, add cross-save functionality, as well as adding further improvements to the Re-Blockade feature and non-combat content. Damiane and Oongka, alternative playable characters, are also in line to receive more improvements and adjustments to make them more viable in the game.