Pearl Abyss Is Playing It Cool With Crimson Desert — And It Might Be Their Smartest Move Yet
by Andrew Berson
Crimson Desert (Image: Deep SIlver)
Pearl Abyss’ Crimson Desert is finally launching on March 19. The game was originally announced back in 2019 and is finally set to launch. Pearl Abyss, a South Korean video game developer and publisher, is trying to keep the release under the radar, which is quite strange, as companies usually hype the game before launch.
When asked about this unique strategy, Will Powers, director of marketing and PR for Pearl Abyss, told IGN, “You don’t want to let people down at launch by making them anticipate something to such a high level – like it’s the second coming. So you have to strike a balance between awareness and not over-promising.” He described announcing the game six-and-a-half years early made them “victims of ourselves,” building up hype they didn’t intend.
All of the public footage has been captured on a PC. This is quite similar to Cyberpunk 2077’s catastrophic console release. Powers has publicly said they aren’t hiding anything and that console footage will be out before launch. “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 preorder the game for themselves. We’re saying this openly… Let us cook? Please and thank you,” Powers posted on X.
This project began as a Black Desert Online prequel, then became a separate single-player, open-world action RPG, and now carries the legacy of Pearl Abyss’ (Black Desert) MMO, with over 55 million Black Desert players, but it is intended to be completely different from that title. Initial reviews of the previewed content have been generally positive about its world-building and combat. However, many reviewers also see a large number of systems in place for the game, which they feel will be too complicated for most users to understand or use.
The under-promise, over-deliver strategy has worked for franchises in the past. With a massive open world, Crimson Desert may not need any extra hype. The game officially launched on March 19, and the strategy, marketing and controversy can be chalked up to prologue. Players will get to judge the game for themselves.
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