During its most recent quarterly investors call, South Korean developer Pearl Abyss confirmed that Crimson Desert gameplay will be featured at Gamescom 2023, likely on Geoff Keighley’s Opening Night Live show scheduled for next Tuesday evening (local time). Here’s the relevant excerpt transcribed by Inven:
Crimson Desert is being developed targeting the global AAA-class console market. It has been tested several times and received good reviews and expectations. In particular, as it is being developed while listening to the feedback of experts familiar with the console market, we are expecting good results. A lot of time has passed since the first release of Crimson Desert, but the quality of the game has also improved by leaps and bounds. In particular, at Gamescom this year, we plan to release a game video that contains the actual gameplay of Crimson Desert. We want to show how the development of Crimson Desert is being completed and the quality we are aiming for. For more details, please check the video on the day of Gamescom.
Crimson Desert was originally announced at G-Star 2019 alongside DokeV and PLAN 8. We had Kai Powell on-site during that event, where he interviewed Lead Producer Jason Jung. At the time, the plan was to create an MMO that would be more story-oriented than Black Desert Online, the flagship game that powered the studio’s success.
One year later, Pearl Abyss switched the genre from MMO to open world action/adventure game. Back then, the studio was still targeting a late 2021 launch window. In late July 2021, however, the game was indefinitely delayed to allow the developers to craft a deeper, richer game.
It looks like that extra development time is approaching its finish line, as Pearl Abyss executives have now confirmed the studio’s goal to complete development in the second half of 2023. Whether that will translate into an immediate release remains to be seen.
The chance is solid, however. Recent rumors also revealed that Sony is in talks with Pearl Abyss to partner on Crimson Desert, pointing to an impending launch. Pearl Abyss executives even commented on the likelihood of an exclusive partnership with a console platform, stating that their goal is to release the game on multiple platforms.
