Key takeaways
- Pearl Abyss was offered a PS5 limited time special deal for Crimson Desert.
- The contract prevented the game from launching on Xbox for an unknown amount of time, but Pearl Abyss declined the offer because it believed that self-publishing would be more profitable.
- The publisher/developer also explained that it chose to use its own in-house engine instead of UE5 so that it could apply much finer details to its world.
Sony reportedly offered Crimson Desert developer and publisher Pearl Abyss a limited PS5 exclusivity deal, preventing the game from launching on Xbox for an unspecified period of time. However, Pearl Abyss declined the offer, choosing to self-publish the game as they believed it would be more profitable.
That's according to a financial blogger who attended an investor relations conference last month (reported by AltChar).
related to
The Crimson Desert Gamescom demo was brutal, and I loved it
“Yeah, it happens a lot,” the developer said, looking over my shoulder as Staglord crushed my character into the snow.
Sony also reportedly compared the game's atmosphere and story to its own first-party flagship Ghost of Tsushima, while Pearl Abyss revealed it was inspired by games such as The Witcher 3, Assassin's Creed, Red Dead Redemption and The Legend of Zelda. New Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom release. It's an ambitious project, to say the least, so much so that five years after the announcement, we still don't have a solid release date.
Why Crimson Desert is using its own engine and not UE5
Pearl Abyss also explained the reasoning behind using his own game engine instead of UE5 during the conference: it all comes down to the finer details. For example, you behave differently depending on the time of day and temperature, meaning your movement speed is slower in the cold. These more focused, granular changes, it claims, would not be possible with the limitations of a commercial engine.
Crimson Desert was also delayed until Q2 2025 in 2023, and Pearl Abyss made it clear that this was because the team wanted to add new features to the open world. What these new features are, it is not stated. But it highlighted that the interactivity with NPCs and the environment was a big focus, which we can see in the prestige system and presents fine details.
Crimson Desert will launch sometime next year for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
Crimson Desert is an open-world action RPG from the makers of Black Desert, Pearl Abyss. Set in the same universe, you play as Macduff, Pywel's mercenary with a troubled past.
