The release of Crimson Desert has been two months ago, but only 7% of players have completed it. We already know the reason from Skyrim.
What does completed mean? Crimson Desert has some achievements on Steam that are only awarded for finishing the main story missions. This allows us to precisely determine what percentage of players have finished the main story.
Two months after the release, only 6.4% of players on Steam have done so. The slow progress of players has already become a meme on social media. According to Steam achievements, only 25% of players have completed Chapter 7 of the story.
One can assume that many players are still hanging around in the starting area Hernand. What has now developed into a meme is a well-known effect.
With a mount, you can quickly traverse Pywel:
The Skyrim Effect
What does Crimson Desert have to do with Skyrim? Looking at the player counts of Skyrim on Steam today, over 33,000 players were playing the RPG simultaneously at peak times on Sunday, May 17, 2026, according to SteamDB.
An impressive number, considering the title was originally released in 2011, 15 years ago. What both games have in common is the favorite activity of the players. It’s not about following the main story as quickly as possible – on the contrary.
Players in Crimson Desert and Skyrim do everything but advance the main story. The open world of both games is the real motivator for the players. Both titles offer a fascinating large world full of activities, puzzles, and stories.
A stroll quickly turns into a rescue mission, a siege, or a side quest that you stumbled into. Therefore, it is hardly surprising that players refuse to leave the starting area, even though there are hundreds of hours of content throughout all parts of Pywel.
Crimson Desert has repeated the successful model 15 years after the release of Skyrim, despite the significant differences between the games, and could remain relevant for years to come. The future of Crimson Desert looks bright: Crimson Desert earns over 151 million euros and wants to use success to significantly expand the game
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