Crimson Desert Delayed From 2025 To Q1 2026

Pearl Abyss has announced that its upcoming single-player action-RPG, Crimson Desert, has been delayed. Originally set to launch on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC sometime in "late 2025," the game will now launch in Q1 of 2026, the company revealed during a Q2 2025 financial briefing, as reported by Gematsu. 

"Before the Q&A session, I would like to first share an update on the development status and release schedule of Crimson Desert, which many of you have been curious about," the company said during the call. "[The] launch of Crimson Desert, our first large-scale triple-A console game, has been unavoidably delayed by one quarter, from the previously announced schedule."

As for why, Pearl Abyss cites "longer than expected timelines arising from schedule coordination and collaborations with multiple partners for offline distribution, voice-overs, console certification, and other launch preparations."

"We sincerely apologize for not being able to meet the originally promised fourth quarter launch schedule," Pearl Abyss said. "Please kindly understand that this is a strategic decision aimed at ensuring success on a meaningful scale. The release date has been internally confirmed for Q1 2026. However, given the change in launch timing, we will announce the date at a more appropriate time based on business considerations, rather than making an announcement at Gamescom next week." 

In the meantime, listen to our thoughts after going hands-on with the game in this episode of The Game Informer Show. After that, check out this Crimson Desert gameplay trailer. 

[Source: Gematsu]

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