Crimson Desert: Gameplay details, story, platforms, trailers & more

If you’re as intrigued as we are by the Crimson Desert trailers, then you’re likely wondering when the release date might be, as well as after more information about the gameplay, story, and which platforms it will release on.

We’ve had several trailers for Crimson Desert now, each of which seems to show off increasingly impressive elements of the game. It looks to have roots in fantasy, with an impressive open world and deep combat systems.

Keep reading to learn more about Crimson Desert, including what we currently know about when it will release, on which platforms, and more.

• We also got lots of new information about Tekken 8 at Gamescom 2023

Is there a Crimson Desert release date?

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At the moment, there is currently no release date for Crimson Desert. In fact, we don’t even have a vague release window of when we might see Crimson Desert hit our consoles.

Initially, the game was supposed to release in 2021. However, this release date was pushed back with an indefinite delay.

Crimson Desert was first revealed in November 2019, so we’d expect the game to release sooner rather than later. We will update this guide when we learn more about the Crimson Desert release date.

• Crimson Desert looks like it borrows a lot of inspiration from Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Crimson Desert gameplay details

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Crimson Desert is developed by Pearl Abyss, the team behind the popular MMO Black Desert Online. With a similar visual and gameplay style, this led many to believe that Crimson Desert would be an MMO too - but alas, it is not.

Instead Crimson Desert will be mostly a single-player RPG experience, involving lots of traversal of the massive open world. Combat will play a huge role too, with several impressive melee moves shown off in the trailers we’ve seen so far.

It’s not out of the question that Crimson Desert could feature some co-op gameplay elements, but we’ll have to wait to learn more about that.

• If you're keen on MMOs, we have lots of guides for World of Warcraft

Crimson Desert platforms

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Crimson Desert is promised to release on PS5, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.

Given how gorgeous the visuals are in Crimson Desert, it’s surprising that Pearly Abyss is still keeping the older generation of consoles in mind. Still, with the release date getting pushed further and further back, there’s a possibility that the last generation release could be cancelled.

• Crimson Desert has elements of The Witcher, too

Crimson Desert trailers

The first official reveal trailer came in November 2019, which showcased a CGI look at the world we can expect to explore. There were also a few bits of in-engine gameplay shown, but nothing major.

Next up, there was the gameplay premiere trailer at The Game Awards 2020. This five-minute-long look gave us a much more detailed glimpse at some of the characters, as well as the world the game will feature.

Despite an incredibly choppy frame rate, we can see lots of impressive melee combat, as well as a fair amount of puzzle-solving.

Lastly, the most recent trailer was shown at Gamescom Opening Night Live, 2023. This is our best look at Crimson Desert yet, with over three minutes of world traversal, combat, and story information. Even some HUD elements made their way into this footage, indicating we might be nearer to a release date than we think.

Oh, and fishing mechanics, parkour, and petting animals were also confirmed features in this trailer.

That’s everything we know about Crimson Desert so far. For more Crimson Desert guides, keep reading GGRecon.