What's Wrong With Crimson Desert?

Among all games set to release in 2026, Crimson Desert, developed by Pearl Abyss studio, sparked significant interest, specifically among RPG fans. Although the developing studio was known only as developers of Black Desert Online and the game initially was a multiplayer prequel to Black Desert, as well as being postponed multiple times, Pearl Abyss was able to intrigue RPG gamers by its huge open world in Crimson Desert, exciting combat system, and the fact that the game is taking its inspiration from such big titles like Red Dead Redemption 2, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

Now, after the release of Crimson Desert has happened, we can see that the game looks ambiguous: although some big gaming outlets reviewed Crimson Desert really high, the reaction of gamers is far from being perfect. So what is wrong with Crimson Desert, and why do some players hate the game so much? Let’s try to find out.

Crimson Desert Has Some Technical Issues

For many gamers, it’s important that any game must be well optimized, and considering Crimson Desert’s system requirements are not overstated in 2026, according to players' reviews, it still doesn’t launch well even on some top-built PCs. This can also be caused by the presence of Denuvo, an anti-tamper protection system that causes performance issues. When it was revealed Denuvo will be included in the Steam version of Crimson Desert, some fans removed the game from their wishlist and even cancelled pre-orders.

Not only on PC, where other players have waited around 1 hour just to launch the game, are there some problems on consoles. For instance, after a pre-load, Xbox Series X/S users have to wait more when an additional 120 GB of update is next on the download list. Moreover, the graphics on Xbox Series S are looking absolutely awful.

There is another issue even admitted by Pearl Abyss itself. Recently, the studio has confirmed the usage of AI tools during the development of Crimson Desert, and plenty of 2D visual props “were created as early-stage iterations with experimental AI generative tools,” and they identify that “some of these assets were unintentionally included in the final release.” On Crimson Desert's official X social media, the developers have apologized for such inconvenience. Recently, Pealy Abyss released the first patch for the game - Patch Notes Version 1.00.03 —that must fix many of the mistakes, and we have to wait more to see players' feedback.

The Original Story of Crimson Desert Looked So Much Excited

Another reason for players to hate Crimson Desert is related to the game’s story. Specifically, the plot has been criticized for its drawn-out beginning and dull narrative, and the general story of the main characters doesn’t develop well without further focus. Before its release, Crimson Desert trailers teased the game would be full of drama, but, as discovered by players, it features a lack of emotions, and there is no attachment to characters. In two words, the story of Crimson Desert is too vague, with not really developed characters, and due to gameplay that offers a variety of different possibilities, it just gets lost. Moreover, another reason might be high expectations from the fans, as Crimson Desert was advertised as an epic story-driven RPG similar to The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, but it didn’t work out.

And what’s even more disappointing, the initial story of Crimson Desert was much different and more exciting. According to the latest messages from the game’s developers on the Blind forum, the initial story revolved around a deposed king, further betrayal from a prime minister, and the struggle for power and resources in Crimson Desert. It was about a political showdown, similar to what we saw in The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings; at the end, the script had been rewritten during the development, which is why the final version turned out to be what it is - we play for Kliff, the leader of the mercenary unit Greymanes, who is fighting alongside his partners against Greymane's biggest enemies - The Black Bears and their leader, Myurdin.

Players Are Hating Crimson Desert Main Character, Kliff

Speaking of Kliff, he deserves more attention. In the huge world of Pywel, he can do a lot of things: ride dragons, solve puzzles, build his own camp, liberate regions and strongholds, do hunting and fishing, play mini-games, interact with random encounters, craft different stuff, customize his appearance, and even befriend dogs and cats. Even despite all of that and more, Crimson Desert players literally hate Kliff, and some of them are even calling him the worst main character in the history of AAA games.

According to players' reviews on Kliff, he “has no depth, never questions anything, has nothing to connect to him, and looks like a conglomeration of every badass stoic gaming MC ever.” And gamers really don’t understand why Crimson Desert doesn’t have a full customization of the character, and, as mentioned by another Reddit user, considering how great the customization was in Pearl Abyss's above-mentioned title, Black Desert.

At the same time, players are excited about another playable character - Damiane. She is praised for great animation, a high-quality voicing and dialogue system, much better looks, and after dropping Kliff, playing for Damiene in Crimson Desert feels much better.

As a result, the absence of customization and wasted protagonist are other reasons why Crimson Desert players continue to criticize the game and why it’s not in the caliber of other big-budget and ambitious RPG titles.

Pearl Abyss Didn’t Want to Hear Anything Except Themself During Production

In the above-mentioned statement about Crimson Desert's initial storyline, developers have also revealed some information about the production. For sure, multiple delays could have impacted the game’s quality, but there is something more - the relationship between developers.

An anonymous employee of Pearl Abyss has revealed a weird hierarchy inside the studio: employees in lower-level positions were required to address their senior colleagues as “Leader.” Once, one of these “Leaders” said to him:

“Do you know why you can’t be one of us? It’s because a Leader has to be someone who looks in the same direction we do”

These leaders, as described in the developer's statement, didn’t want to hear anything that differed from their point of view in terms of how Crimson Desert developed and in what direction the game was moving. According to him, it was the main reason why Crimson Desert “would become a disaster.” To say that the developers’ approach affected the game’s final quality would be an understatement.

Despite Negative Feedback, Crimson Desert Is Doing Well In Sales Though The Game Is Not Perfect

As was mentioned, right before the game’s release, Crimson Desert received mostly positive reviews from notable gaming outlets, like ComicBook, PC Gamer, Game Informer, and many more. Although IGN rated Crimson Desert as “Okay” with 6/10 and described it as “an extremely ambitious open-world adventure, and that ambition is what makes it both incredibly cool and gobsmackingly infuriating in almost equal measure.” It’s also getting some really proper sales: the game has already sold more than 400,000 copies on Steam and made $20 million of profit thanks to pre-orders. Earlier, before release, Forbes even released a report where Crimson Desert was named as a possible second best-selling game of 2026. However, it all seems unlikely after how the game was appreciated by players and especially thanks to the above-mentioned reports from developers about the development process.

Considering all that, it’s too early to call Crimson Desert a massive disappointment, and the game is still offering so much fun. It’s not perfect, and it’s not even close to all-time best RPGs like The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. The world of the game, the combat system, and the number of activities all around the Pywel are impressive, but gamers still believe Crimson Desert deserves its hate, and looking back at all the issues the game currently has, you can’t argue with them.

What do you think of Crimson Desert so far? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Crimson Desert is available on PC, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, Mac, and Xbox ROG Ally.