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With Crimson Desert just weeks away, questions about the game's genre, difficulty, and business model have been swirling. Pearl Abyss marketing director Will Powers addressed them head-on in a lengthy appearance on the Dropped Frames podcast, delivering one of the most candid developer conversations surrounding the March 19 release.
Powers touched on everything from the game's unusual eight-year development journey, which actually began life as an MMO before transforming into something entirely different, to firm rejections of soulslike comparisons, reassurances about system depth, and a refreshingly straightforward answer on monetisation. He also teased features still being kept under wraps, suggesting Pearl Abyss is very deliberately controlling what they show ahead of launch.
Here's everything revealed:
The Game Itself
- Crimson Desert was originally conceived as an MMO prequel to Black Desert, but shifted direction significantly over its eight years in development
- Pearl Abyss refuses to call it an RPG due to missing features like a full character creator, but acknowledge it has plenty of RPG mechanics.
- Their preferred descriptor is simply "open world" and a purely single-player game.
- It's not a soulslike - there's no "git gud" mentality, but there are skill checks.
- Most encounters can be prepared for rather than demanding pure mechanical mastery
- No difficulty settings. Single difficulty curve with no enemy level scaling.
- Stuck on a boss? Go explore, level up, come back and overpower it
- Three playable characters, each with distinct movesets and equipment philosophies, but Pearl Abyss insists they aren't "classes" in the traditional sense
The World
- You play as a member of the Greymanes, the game's protagonists, who lost their homeland and are scattered across the world
- Day and night cycle confirmed, including a stunning Milky Way-style galaxy visible in the night sky
- No seasons, but dramatically different biomes that make progression feel genuinely varied - different fauna, flora, and atmosphere throughout
- Ships are in the game and can be visited. Powers was notably cagey about whether players can sail them, which strongly hints they can
Progression and Systems
- Powers pushed back firmly on suggestions that the game's systems will be shallow. "They're not," he said, adding they're interconnected and mutually supportive — and that Pearl Abyss still hasn't shown everything
- A crime system exists, but an "evil playthrough" isn't particularly recommended since you're limiting your choices
- Switching between the three characters is a feature Powers kept deliberately under wraps for a future reveal
- PC specs haven't been released yet as optimisation is still ongoing - standard practice for late development. Powers guaranteed specs will be published before launch and suggested PC players will be pleasantly surprised
Monetisation and Playtime
- Premium single-purchase title with no microtransactions beyond pre-order bonuses
- Powers declined to give a specific playtime estimate, arguing any number would either scare away casual players or invite "dollars per hour" debates.
- His summary: "We've built a world, not a game." Hundreds of hours are possible, but never required
Crimson Desert launches March 19, 2026, for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, and Mac.
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