During Sony's September State of Play event, South Korean developer Pearl Abyss announced the final launch date for its long-awaited game Crimson Desert.
The open world action/adventure title will be available starting on March 19, 2026 for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series S|X. Pre-orders are open now across all platforms, with the Standard Edition priced $69.99 and a Digital Deluxe Edition priced $79.99. The latter provides access to some in-game extra cosmetics:
- Kairos Plate Helm
- Kairos Plate Gloves
- Kairos Plate Boots
- Kairos Cloak
- Kairos Plate Armor
- Balgran Shield
- Exclaire Champron
- Exclaire Barding
- Exclaire Saddle
- Exclaire Stirrups
A physical Deluxe Edition will be available for $10 more and also includes:
- Deluxe Edition Limited SteelBook
- Map of Pywel
- Letter from the Developer
- Greymane Brooch Pin
- 3 Character Photo Cards
- 3 Patches
A physical Collector's Edition is priced at $279.99 and adds a stunning 17” Diorama as well as a digital Ultimate Pack that gives players a Tormented Soul Bow, Derictus Spear, Sielos Longsword, Shroud Lantern, and Hyperion Horse Tack Set. All Crimson Desert pre-orders also include the Khaled Shield, and all PS5 pre-orders get the exclusive Grotevant Plate Set. This may be all that remains of that rumor from two years ago about Pearl Abyss partnering with Sony on the game.
With the game's pre-orders opening, Pearl Abyss also updated its previously shared PC system requirements. The minimum specs are exactly the same, but the recommended specs have been greatly reduced from the previous recommendations of Ryzen 7 7700X / i7-13700K CPU and RTX 4070 SUPER / RX 7800 XT GPU to Ryzen 5 5600 / i5-11600K and RTX 2080 / RX 6700 XT, likely as a result of ongoing optimization. The Steam page also now lists the macOS requirements, which we have reported below:
MINIMUM:
Requires an Apple processor
OS: MacOS 15
Processor: Apple M1
Memory: 16 GB RAM
Graphics: M1
Storage: 135 GB available space
RECOMMENDED:
Requires an Apple processor
OS: MacOS 26
Processor: Apple M4 Pro
Memory: 16 GB RAM
Graphics: M3 Pro
Storage: 150 GB available space
Crimson Desert is powered by the rather impressive proprietary BlackSpace Engine, which we have covered in detail in our GDC 2025 report.
The end of the road is finally in sight for the second triple-A game developed by the studio currently known for the MMORPG Black Desert. Crimson Desert was originally announced pre-COVID at G-Star 2019 and even had a Winter 2021 launch window at some point before being delayed indefinitely. Initially, the game was meant to feature some MMO-like elements, but it was revamped into a full-fledged single player action/adventure title, which inevitably required a lot of work.
It won't be long before we judge for ourselves whether the change and the wait were worth it. In the meantime, stay tuned for additional Crimson Desert coverage.
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.
Follow Wccftech on Google to get more of our news coverage in your feeds.
