Crimson Desert by Pearl Abyss was initially supposed to be an MMORPG, but the developers decided otherwise. In an interview, they refer to the game as “a genre of its own” and talk about the multiplayer mode.
What is it about? The game Crimson Desert started as an MMORPG meant to follow in the footsteps of Black Desert Online. However, during development, the focus shifted, and the game is now referred to as “Open World Action-Adventure”.
Pearl Abyss distanced itself from the term MMORPG and explained that the main story of the game will be a single-player experience, but there will also be a multiplayer mode.
This is what the developers say about multiplayer: In an interview with MMOCulture.com, the developers stated that it is difficult to compare the single and multiplayer system of Crimson Desert with other games.
Internally, we believe that Crimson Desert is a genre of its own. Crimson Desert does not have separate single and multiplayer modes that are independent of each other. Rather, they are organically connected and provide a unique gameplay experience.
The game moved away from being an MMORPG to a kind of hybrid single and multiplayer game that is supposed to be unique in its kind.
According to Pearl Abyss, there will be no content that is exclusive to the multiplayer. Instead, gameplay will be based on the single-player and “organically integrate into the multiplayer of the game”. This way, players should be able to play Crimson Desert in the way that suits them best.
At the same time, however, the game should also cater to PvP fans. A gameplay trailer showed a castle siege, which was addressed in the interview:
Even though there will be sieges, players will find that they differ from the already existing forms of “faction vs. faction” sieges. We are preparing several different types of PvP content and large battles, such as the siege battle shown in our gameplay trailer. However, it is still too early to talk about the number of participants in this content […]
Special Mode “Another Journey”
What is that? Crimson Desert will also feature a special mode with the provisional name “Another Journey”: While the game’s single-player campaign will have a proper ending, players will be able to continue playing in this mode.
[…] This mode [Another Journey] can be played whenever players want, without them seeing the ending of the single-player campaign. It is organically connected to the single-player mode.
In this mode, you will also be able to create your own character. Because in the campaign itself, this is not possible.
The character Macduff, seen in the trailers, is a mercenary and the main protagonist of Crimson Desert. His appearance can be adjusted with cosmetic items, but his face cannot be changed. The developers decided this in order to convey the story of Crimson Desert “in a more natural way”.
In the “Another Journey” mode, the game gives you the opportunity to create your own separate character and travel through the game world with him or her.
You will use the highly developed character creation system from Pearl Abyss. It is likely to be similar to the system from Black Desert, even though Crimson Desert will use its own engine.
When will Crimson Desert be released? In the interview, the developers confirmed that they are aiming for a global release of Crimson Desert in the last quarter of 2021.
Crimson Desert is one of the 10 MMORPGs or near-MMORPGs in development in 2021.
