‘Crimson Desert’ hits 3m wishlists, releases this week

Crimson Desert, a fantasy game set in a massive open world, has reached 3-million wish lists across all platforms. Developed by Pearl Abyss, the roleplaying adventure has drawn significant attention for large-scale exploration, cinematic combat, and a story-driven campaign.

Crimson Desert launches this Friday (20 March 2026, 00:00 SAST) for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S. Regional release times can be viewed on the website here. The story unfolds on the continent of Pywel, a vast land of towns, wilderness regions, and hostile territories shaped by rival factions and ongoing conflict.

Players can take on the role of Kliff, a member of the Greymanes, a band of warriors operating across the lands. A night-time assault by the rival Black Bears leaves many Greymanes dead or scattered across the continent. Separated from the remaining members, Kliff sets out to locate the survivors and rebuild the group. The search introduces new allies, hostile forces, and unfamiliar factions while revealing a broader threat emerging across Pywel.

The continent includes a wide range of environments, from towns and villages to plains, deserts, mountains, ruins, and shrines. Activities across these areas include gathering resources, crafting equipment, hunting, and completing various tasks while travelling through the landscape.

Traversal features several types of mounts, including horses, wolves, mechanical machines, and dragons. Kliff can climb cliffs and walls, leap from elevated areas to glide across terrain, and travel through mystical gateways that lead to a separate realm known as the Abyss.

Combat includes a range of weapons like swords, spears, and bows, along with abilities and elemental effects. Players can combine different weapons and skills to create different combat approaches. Battles are designed to be fast-paced, requiring timing and positioning during encounters.

Enemies across the world include human opponents and large creatures. Encounters range from one-on-one duels to larger battles and smaller skirmishes against multiple opponents.

Kliff’s companions include fellow Greymanes Oongka, Yann, and Naira. During the confrontation with the Black Bears’ leader, Myurdin, the surviving members of the group are scattered across the continent. Kliff’s journey then centres on reuniting the Greymanes while confronting the Black Bears and uncovering a wider conflict affecting Pywel.

The English voice cast, revealed last month in a YouTube video, is led by Alec Newman (Adam Smasher in Cyberpunk 2077) as Kliff. He joined by Stewart Scudamore (Rictus in Arcane) as Oongka, Emily Barber (Bridgerton) as Naira, and Rebecca Hanssen as Damiane. The original Korean voice cast includes Lee Hyun, Han Bok-hyeon, Lee Da-seul, and Jeong Ui-han.

Where to play Crimson Desert

Crimson Desert is available to play from Friday (20 March 2026, 00:00 SAST) on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S. View regional release times on the website here.

* Visit the ‘Crimson Desert’ website here.