The new MMO Crimson Desert was announced in 2019 as the successor to Black Desert. It was originally supposed to be released in 2021, but has been postponed indefinitely. Now the developers revealed that the release is set for the second half of 2023. It is currently unclear whether it will be released only in Korea or worldwide.
What kind of game is it exactly? Crimson Desert will be a mix of single-player game and MMORPG. You will take on the role of Macduff (featured image) and his mercenaries, who are supposed to introduce you to the story of the world. Combat, exploration, and puzzle-solving will be the focus.
After the solo campaign, you will be able to create your own character and experience multiplayer content, including:
- Open-world events for multiple players
- Dungeons
- Fortress battles that are supposed to scale with large player counts
- More PvP content
- Trading between players
Visually, Macduff resembles John Snow, and the game features several parallels to Game of Thrones, which were deliberately chosen to appeal to the Western audience.
The game has a dark and bloody tone. In the gameplay trailer, there are also some instances that clearly hint at betrayal and intrigues. Even in the lore texts, intrigues are mentioned – the contrast of “wild north” vs. “fancy south” is addressed.
You can watch the first gameplay footage of Crimson Desert here:
Pearl Abyss aims to release Crimson Desert in 2023, forgoing major announcements
What do the developers say about the release? Pearl Abyss, the company behind Black Desert and also Crimson Desert, recently presented the latest quarterly results. In the accompanying conference call, upcoming games were also discussed:
- Crimson Desert is set to be released in the second half of 2023. The company’s focus is on completing and releasing the game swiftly.
- DokeV, the colorful open-world game that resembles Pokémon, is postponed. Although there was never an official release date, it is now confirmed that it will definitely not be released in 2023.
- Additionally, a new game is in development, which is being implemented by CCP Games (EVE Online). It is focused on blockchain technology.
What makes us skeptical? Although Crimson Desert is supposed to be released in 2023, Pearl Abyss has missed an important moment to draw attention to it. Currently, the G-Star is taking place, the largest gaming fair in Korea.
Here there were new details about the game content of Throne and Liberty and a first trailer for the new sandbox MMORPG ArcheAge 2. However, Pearl Abyss did not present a trailer or any new information about Crimson Desert at the fair.
The release date was only mentioned during the call. There was also a curious moment where in a presentation by Pearl Abyss a few days before the fair old assets of Crimson Desert were used, which still had the word “MMORPG” visible. This sparked discussions ion reddit, because Pearl Abyss has only referred to the game as a multiplayer open-world action-adventure.
What do you think about Crimson Desert? Do the visuals and the concept appeal to you? Or do you exclusively need a full-fledged MMORPG? Feel free to write it in the comments.
By the way, you can find out which MMORPGs are still set to be released in 2023 here:
