Crimson Desert Dev Explains How It's Changing the Game's Story, What 'DLC' Means, and Why Anything Goes

Crimson Desert is simply a hit, selling implicit 6 cardinal copies successful little than 3 months. Despite archetypal reception astatine motorboat being mixed, the sprawling single-player unfastened satellite enactment escapade has caught connected with fans, who person marveled astatine the sheer fig of updates Pearl Abyss has pumped retired connected a play basis, each 1 improving the prime of the crippled and added caller contented successful a meaningful — and often astonishing — way.

But there’s nary motion of Pearl Abyss slowing down. The South Korean workplace has said it wants to guarantee Crimson Desert receives semipermanent support, outlining a summertime roadmap of contented that includes improvements to the halfway communicative – a recurring disapproval of the game. And there’s adjacent DLC successful the works.

During Summer Game Fest 2026, we sat down with Will Powers, manager of selling and PR for Pearl Abyss, to drawback up connected the authorities of things with Crimson Desert. Along with breaking down the game's occurrence successful its archetypal months and lessons learned from its suite of post-launch updates, Powers explained however the developers person been capable to rapidly code feedback and merchandise monolithic updates to the crippled successful a timely mode since launch.

Editor's Note: This interrogation has been edited for clarity and readability.

IGN: The crippled has been a large deed for Pearl Abyss, and galore players person been enjoying exploring its world. How has the subordinate effect been wide since launch?

Will Powers: Well, Pearl Abyss is built connected community, and that's based connected our acquisition successful unrecorded work with Black Desert Online. It's successful the Pearl Abyss DNA to perceive to the assemblage and respond to them; that's been incredibly important to the developers. The momentum going into launch, on with sustained feedback and hours played aft its release, is driving the squad to support improving the game. The players are investing successful the game, and arsenic they support playing, we'll support gathering it up. It's thing similar Field of Dreams, that enactment wherever helium says, "If you physique it, they volition come."

One benignant of question we get a batch is asking us, wherefore this is simply a single-player crippled with live-service development? And portion of it's due to the fact that we can, [laughs]. We can, and we privation to, adhd much worth to the crippled successful the agelong term. We privation to support improving the acquisition for players who person been invested successful from time 1 and guarantee the crippled continues to get better.

IGN: Has determination been a definite benignant of feedback that's been accordant from the community, 1 that's been a continuing effort to improve?

Will Powers: It's hard to accidental specifically, but I volition accidental that 1 of the things the improvement squad is incredibly arrogant of is their first-ever console-focused release, and that's a large woody for the company. It's a large woody for the Korean improvement team, and they privation to proceed improving the game's console experience. It's 1 of the fewer times that Korean improvement studios person had this level of occurrence connected consoles, and that's been specified a challenge. In Korea, the level divided for that crippled is 95% connected PC and 5% connected consoles, but it's drastically antithetic from the West. So erstwhile a Korean workplace says, "I privation to marque a Western-appropriate product," they look astatine console, obviously, due to the fact that that's wherever a batch of the assemblage is.

But successful presumption of the halfway crippled itself, I would accidental 1 of the accordant changes from feedback is improvements to the UI, that's decidedly a portion of feedback that they're taking in, due to the fact that they haven't experienced single-player and console crippled improvement to this level before, erstwhile they are mostly moving connected MMOs. The UI changes are being made to relationship for single-player games being designed for players who beryllium down, relax, and play crossed a assortment of platforms, displays, and more.

IGN: With each these updates to the game, is determination a large situation successful not overcorrecting it? To the constituent wherever the game's individuality begins to alteration successful effect to assemblage feedback that wants it to beryllium much similar different games.

Will Powers: Yeah, that's a bully question. There are decidedly interior conversations astir what benignant of assemblage feedback to instrumentality in. Do you perceive to the vocal number connected things, oregon walk clip figuring retired who knows champion astir strategy changes with however something's expected to enactment successful a game, and truthful on? But it comes down to needing a cardinal filter connected what the DNA of the crippled is earlier it comes to Crimson Desert, and that comes down to a halfway shaper who takes immoderate projected changes, whether interior oregon external, and decides whether they compromise what makes this crippled astatine its core. They person to find whether it is amusive arsenic is, oregon whether it gets successful the mode of things, due to the fact that sometimes the other is true.

It's like, 'Okay, we optimized farming due to the fact that excessively galore fastener presses and each that, and this is getting successful the mode of fun, truthful let's hole that.' It's each astir creating a better, much approachable experience. Players are enjoying this, but let's marque it easier for them to bask it and person fun. Being receptive to feedback, careless of wherever it comes from, is incredibly important. But being capable to filter that and marque definite that you don't suffer absorption connected the DNA of the crippled is critical, due to the fact that that's evidently the hazard that you're pointing at. We've made a batch of changes, but not sweeping ones that change the game's halfway identity.

IGN: On that note, 1 alteration that was discussed antecedently was plans to set the storytelling of the existing game. Would you beryllium capable to elaborate connected what that means exactly, and what benignant of feedback you got from the community?

Will Powers: Sure, I'll commencement with what I anticipation is not a arguable statement: creation is subjective, conscionable successful general. That's not to discount anyone's experience, and people's antithetic opinions are each valid, whether it's a reappraisal oregon a consumer's impressions. But that's what comes down to the crux of the question: does that mean we're overhauling this communicative and throwing distant what we built for a antithetic communicative than the 1 radical primitively played? No. Does it mean we are making a amended effort to support communicative continuity and amended cutscenes to clarify communicative elements and supply a amended onboarding experience? Yes. That's the extremity we person with the improved storytelling, and that's ok.

Many players didn't needfully recognize the character's information successful the opening hours, and they felt similar characters appeared without them knowing who they were successful the story. We tin code that, but that won't alteration the acquisition of those who already played the game. But does it marque it amended for radical playing for the archetypal time, oregon for radical who privation to play again? Yeah, totally. But astatine the extremity of the day, we didn't privation to compromise connected fun, and we besides don't privation to detract from radical who are aboriginal adopters for the crippled arsenic well, truthful everything that we're doing is simply a mode of rewarding their acquisition by making it additive to what they've already experienced.

Gamers play Crimson Desert astatine Gamescom 2025. Photo by Ina FASSBENDER / AFP.

IGN: There person besides been updates hinting astatine much changes for Damiane and Oongka, who are Kliff's playable allies successful the game. Will determination beryllium attempts to marque them consciousness much important and worthwhile wrong the game's wide experience?

Will Powers: We've had conversations astir fleshing retired the backstories for the further characters, and the specifics are inactive to beryllium determined. But obviously, each of that's connected the table, and to spell connected grounds arsenic saying that the developers bash work the feedback that they spot crossed the internet. Players person expressed a tendency to spot much backstories for the further playable characters and to recognize however these radical came to beryllium progressive successful the main story. But yeah, it remains to beryllium seen whether and however we extremity up doing it, but that's 1 of the options we person for continuing to grow the communicative successful Crimson Desert. That's not arsenic overmuch arsenic rewriting the story, but coming successful to enactment much nutrient connected the bones of the story.

IGN: There are besides plans to adhd DLC to the game. Can you stock immoderate insights oregon details astir what that volition entail exactly, whether it's purely a contented upgrade oregon possibly thing much sweeping to the halfway game?

Will Powers: I deliberation that remains to beryllium seen astir what absorption we volition instrumentality with our upcoming plans for that. But, you know, words are important. So let's beryllium precise wide astir the quality betwixt the words 'update,' 'DLC,' and 'expansion.' What we've called everything we've done and added to the crippled close present has been updates. We're calling this upcoming task a DLC, truthful this volition beryllium antithetic from each the updates we've had aft the crippled launched. So that's wherever I'll spell with that. We're calling it thing different, and there's a bully crushed wherefore we're calling it a DLC.

IGN: It's been absorbing to spot what's been added to the crippled truthful far. We precocious saw a pinball minigame added, and I deliberation what's worked good successful Crimson Desert is however it mashes up antithetic phantasy RPG styles. It's precocious phantasy and steampunk arsenic well, and that seems to person fixed the developers a batch of state to grow things arsenic they spot fit.

Will Powers: Yeah, it's a benignant of powerfulness fantasy. Like, however bash these things marque consciousness successful the world? There's been a batch of conversations internally starring into motorboat about, 'Okay, well, however bash dragons, mechs, trains, and dinosaurs similar raptors, each marque consciousness successful the aforesaid environment?' And it conscionable each comes down to this being a phantasy game, and it's a large freaking world. So erstwhile you play it, it does marque sense, and I deliberation that's what you deed the nail connected the caput of, that's the quality of Crimson Desert. It's truthful massive, and you tin play with what makes consciousness successful the antithetic regions with antithetic cultures and environments, and that presents the creator liberty to bash immoderate the hellhole you want. It past becomes the question of, 'What bash we privation to do?' alternatively than, 'What bash we person to do?' and that's a amusive question.

Changes are coming to the Crimson Desert story. Image credit: Pearl Abyss.

IGN: Has determination been immoderate information to adhd mod enactment for Crimson Desert?

Will Powers: Yeah, I don't person a bully reply for that, but I would accidental my impulsive effect is that we're trying to support a accordant acquisition crossed each Crimson Desert platforms. We conscionable announced cross-save for the game, and we're gonna person cross-side enactment for each versions, truthful I'm not definite however you bash that good by splitting features that tin alteration 1 mentation of the game. The community's already doing it for the PC version, but arsenic a publisher, I don't spot an authoritative mode to bash that. That said, we similar seeing players prosecute with the crippled to physique their assemblage and everything related to it, which is truly great. I similar seeing players speech astir their experiences playing the crippled and talking astir what they uncovered.

IGN: Going backmost to the game's broader appeal, it's been absorbing to spot conscionable however overmuch enactment has been fixed to a single-player crippled similar this successful specified a abbreviated time, and players person surely been keeping up with it. Do you consciousness the occurrence of this crippled speaks to a larger inclination that audiences privation much engaging single-player games?

Will Powers: I don't spot a azygous adaptable for this game's success. I deliberation determination are galore factors astatine play, but it surely helps to person a bully game. The different elements that threw america for a loop internally were that we had to rethink however we person a assemblage for a single-player RPG. Like, Pearl Abyss didn't person assemblage managers for a single-player game, but we did for live-service games. We person to enactment astatine retaining a assemblage astir this crippled to enactment it. They privation much and much contented due to the fact that they're enjoying surviving successful this world, which feels similar a live-service crippled successful scope, but it's precise different. Like erstwhile you acquisition this game, you bargain it once, and it's yours.

We besides wanted to reward players who person been determination the full clip by avoiding abrupt discounts for aboriginal adopters. Typically, successful video games, the archetypal discount is 90 days oregon so. We haven't discounted the game, but that's not due to the fact that we're truly greedy by immoderate means. We privation to adhd much value, truthful we're continuing not to instrumentality distant thing but marque it a amended acquisition with much worth for the radical who spent not conscionable their hard-earned wealth but besides their time, due to the fact that that's astir apt the biggest origin close present for galore radical who privation to play the game. We're asking you to play 100+ hours, which is simply a important clip investment. But if you're going to walk your money, we privation to reward that acquisition by giving you a ton of things to bash and making it much rewarding.

Wesley is Director, News astatine IGN. Find him connected Twitter astatine @wyp100. You tin scope Wesley astatine [email protected] oregon confidentially astatine [email protected].