- 0-20%: Unlikely - Lacks credible sources
- 21-40%: Questionable - Some concerns remain
- 41-60%: Plausible - Reasonable evidence
- 61-80%: Probable - Strong evidence
- 81-100%: Highly Likely - Multiple reliable sources
75%
Probable
Crimson Desert may have already sold 2 million units thanks to strong hype, but the reviews from critics and users alike aren't nearly as positive as Pearl Abyss investors had hoped, leading to a 30% stock crash on Thursday and a 10% one on Friday.
Now, it seems a few developers have decided to speak anonymously about some of the issues that plagued the game's long development (it was even delayed indefinitely in 2021 and only resurfaced two years later). Two detailed posts about Crimson Desert's behind-the-scenes appeared on Blind (as spotted on Reddit), an anonymous professional social network primarily used by tech and finance industry workers. To post on Blind, employees must be verified using their work email addresses.
According to the first poster, the story, which is definitely one of the game's weakest and most criticized parts, was heavily changed from the original plan, which sounds far more interesting than the final plot:
The story was not decided until right before release. Therefore, a story trailer could not come out, and since it is a story about a mercenary group, there is inevitably no talk about the mercenary group. The fact that it proceeds only with the protagonist Kliff is also for this reason. Additionally, Kliff was originally named "Macduff", but the name was changed because it has a serial killer vibe…?
The story originally started with a young king who had his throne usurped, coming to the Greymanes. A middle-aged prime minister who was looking after the young king and a young princess came and asked to make them royalty, and it was content about recapturing a type of "currency" manufactured from minerals that can only be collected in the regional area of the "Crimson Desert." So, in the process of occupying the Crimson Desert to seize hegemony and making them royalty, this middle-aged prime minister was supposed to betray them and try to become king himself, and the story was about stopping that and winning.
In the middle of it, a director was pushed out in a power struggle and resigned, and once someone from an art background became the General Manager, they started overturning everything. This person, who became General Manager, is a general manager in name only; they are just a compliant subordinate. And every person in the team who holds a rank is just a compliant subordinate. Individual will? Personal opinion? They do not exist. That is why they can hold a rank. The current result is what happened as everything began to be overturned for art. Even Ervin was originally that young king's bodyguard and was a man.
The post also hinted at a culture of subordination where personal opinions are not valued. This topic is expanded in the second post:
Once, a high-ranking Leader said to me, "Do you know why you can't be one of us? It's because a Leader has to be someone who looks in the same direction we do." What that actually meant was that they only want people who unconditionally say "Yes," follow orders, and never talk back. In other words, every head at the top of that inverted pyramid is filled with people who think exactly the same way. I believe most of my colleagues involved in development were aware that Crimson Desert was going off the rails. However, I don't think many were in a position to speak up about it. As I mentioned, they don't acknowledge anyone who doesn't share their exact mindset.
They just praise their own work as "amazing," and whenever they see a reference from here or there that looks good, they just shove it in. Because it became such a hodgepodge of features crammed together, the control layout must have been a mess, too. I believe it was an inevitable conclusion that Crimson Desert would become a disaster. I don't think a proper direction can ever emerge from a company that suppresses people for calling out what is wrong.
Both posts agree that the higher-ups added too many features from other games, such as the Sky Islands inspired by The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, without any justification and also to the detriment of the controls, which are needlessly complex.
It's yet another controversy following the discovery of AI art in the game and the fact that Crimson Desert simply does not run on Intel ARC graphics cards. Having said that, the game is definitely not a complete disaster. If you're looking to dive into the world of Pywel, you'll find everything you need to know in our roundup article, from features to specs to the review in progress and various guides.
About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief. In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech's gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews. Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications. His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.
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