A lot is riding on Crimson Desert, even if you ignore its long development cycle and how long Pearl Abyss has spent on optimizing it. Over the past couple of years, there have been extensive gameplay showcases and previews highlighting its gorgeous visuals, but primarily on PC. It’s led some to suspect that the developer is purposely “hiding” footage.
Marketing and strategic planning expert Will Powers has pushed back against this sentiment on Twitter. “We’re not hiding anything, and I’m sick of having to repeat myself. I’ve repeated 100s of times that we’ll reveal things ahead of launch to give people adequate time to still pre-order the game for themselves. We’re saying this openly… Let us cook? Please and thank you.”
Of course, this follows what Powers previously said about lackluster details in some areas – if he wasn’t talking about something, “it’s because there’s likely a plan to talk about it later.” But despite clarifying this, some users feel that it’s not the best approach, fearing a situation similar to CD Projekt RED’s Cyberpunk 2077. “I think being transparent and giving reviewers keys to the console version would show some confidence,” says Ben of VideoTechUK.
Understandably, console players would like to see gameplay – those three million-plus wishlists wouldn’t have just come from PC fans. However, a plan is seemingly already in place to showcase more footage and even reveal performance numbers for the consoles. When that will happen, and whether that’s enough time for those planning to pre-order, is another matter entirely.
Regardless, Crimson Desert launches on March 19th for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC. There’s plenty of time to prepare, and you can spend it admiring the gorgeous ray-tracing diffused global illumination, water physics, and other stunning details on PC. You can also check out our thoughts on the combat and why it feels like an incredible mix of some of the best games out there.
