Crimson Desert will be released on March 19, 2026, for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series at a minimum price of 69.99 Euros. MeinMMO summarizes the most important factors that could influence your purchasing decision.
The preview version of Crimson Desert made it clear: There are some good reasons to look forward to the new open-world adventure from Pearl Abyss (Black Desert). Similarly, potential reasons can be found as well, why the action-adventure with RPG elements might ultimately disappoint you.
Besides these, mainly gameplay-related, potential strengths and weaknesses, other factors may also influence the purchase of Crimson Desert. Can you save the nearly 70 Euros because the game will be part of a subscription service from the release date? Are there hidden costs after the purchase? And how much gameplay do you get for your money?
In this article, MeinMMO answers the most important things you need to know before buying Crimson Desert. You can jump to the sections that matter to you via the table of contents:
- PC, PS5, Xbox – which platform should it be?
- Are there hidden costs in Crimson Desert?
- What kind of game can I expect in Crimson Desert?
- How much gameplay is there in Crimson Desert for my money?
PC, PS5, Xbox – which platform should it be?
Crimson Desert will be launched worldwide simultaneously for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 5 Pro, Xbox Series X|S, Steam (PC & Mac), Epic Games Store, Mac App Store, and GeForce NOW. For all buyers, it starts on March 19, 2026, at 11 PM our time.
Those who obtain a physical version for consoles in advance do not have an advantage, as there is a protection in place to prevent early play. A pre-download will be available on Steam as well as in the PlayStation and Microsoft stores from March 17, 2026, at 11 PM. You need an online connection for the initial setup and the download of the day-one patch, not for playing.
This is also important for choosing the platform:
- Crimson Desert will not be in Xbox Game Pass at release
- Since Crimson Desert is a purely single-player game without multiplayer, you do not need a PS Plus subscription or Game Pass Essential on consoles
- The developers recommend using a controller for gameplay – regardless of the platform
- Those playing Crimson Desert on PC, must deal with the Denuvo copy protection at launch
- No playable demo is available for any platform. However, you can use, for example, Steam’s refund function to at least try out the open-world adventure for up to 2 hours
- Crimson Desert does not support a cross-save feature, meaning you cannot play a save on different platforms
- You can find the official system requirements for PC, PS5, Xbox, and ROG Xbox Ally X here
- How well Crimson Desert will run on the Steam Deck is currently unclear
Note that there is currently little gameplay available from the console versions of Crimson Desert, and the reports we have come from the PS5 Pro. There is still a big question mark behind the regular PS5 and Xbox. More about this here: Crimson Desert on PS5: Finally, there is real gameplay from experts, but one piece of information is still missing
