Crimson Desert Rejects PS5 Exclusivity, Paving Way for Xbox and PC Release

Developer Pearl Abyss has reportedly turned down a deal with Sony to turn its highly anticipated, upcoming action-adventure game Crimson Desert into a PlayStation exclusive.

Sony Fails to Secure Exclusivity of Crimson Desert as Devs Want to Remain IndependentNo Release Date and Platforms Confirmed Yet for Crimson Desert

Crimson Desert developer Pearl Abyss is sticking to its guns with its decision to self-publish its upcoming action-adventure magnum opus. "In our last quarter earnings call, which is publicly available, we revealed that we would publish Crimson Desert independently," the developer expounded in a statement to Eurogamer. "We of course honour and appreciate our esteemed business partners who we are constantly in touch with about our progress and plans, and we are discussing various forms of collaboration with them."

In addition, the developer announced that it is showcasing Crimson Desert to the public next month in November. Pearl Abyss said, "Additionally, we have not announced any release date yet, so any articles about the topic are only speculation at this point. We look forward to showcasing a playable Crimson Desert build to media this week in Paris and to the public at G-Star in November."

According to an investor meeting in September, it was revealed that Sony tried to strike a deal with Pearl Abyss to bring Crimson Desert exclusively to the PS5, that would in turn make the game unavailable on the Xbox platform for a length of time. However, Pearl Abyss said that they decided to self-publish Crimson Desert as "it was judged that self-publishing would be highly profitable."

A final list of platforms that Crimson Desert would be launching on has not been confirmed yet, as well as an official release date. However, the game is expected to launch on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox sometime around Q2 2025.