Crimson Desert delayed to Q1 2026
After the first announcement in 2019, the open-world action-adventure Crimson Desert went pretty much silent up till 2023. It showed great promise through a series of gameplay videos leaving fans excited about a release date. Now, the game has been delayed by a quarter from its initial release date of late 2025.
Peal Abyss, the developer of Crimson Desert and Black Desert (2014), had its Q2 2025 earnings call recently. The team spoke about Crimson Desert and revealed that it has been delayed to Q1 2026. The reason for the delay was longer than expected timelines for schedule coordination and collaborations with multiple partners. These partners include offline distributors, voice-overs, console certification agency, and others. “We sincerely apologize for not being able to meet the originally promised fourth quarter launch schedule. Please kindly understand that this is a strategic decision aimed at insuring success on a meaningful scale,” the spokesperson added.
There isn’t an exact date yet and Pearl Abyss will announce one at a more appropriate time. It will, however, showcase an open-world build at Gamescom and PAX West this month, August. Then, in September, the game will be showcased at Tokyo Game Show.
Back in June, it was reported that Crimson Desert will release on November 2, sticking with its Q4 2025 timeline. At the time, the developer clarified that the information was false and that an official release date will be announced when it is ready. But it looks like a delay was unavoidable and the game will now release more than six years after the first announcement, if no more delays occur.
Originally, Crimson Desert was planned as an MMORPG similar to Black Desert, but as development progressed, it changed to an action adventure. The series of boss fight videos show intense combat and stunning environments. It uses an upgraded version of the proprietary BlackSpace Engine used for Black Desert. According to the Steam page, an RTX 2080 or an RX 6700 XT is recommended for the game.
