Crimson Desert will be able to take advantage of the PlayStation 5 Pro's upgraded hardware with some special enhancements, giving players a wider degree of control over their visual experience. There are only a few weeks left until players get their hands on Crimson Desert, and the newly revealed information makes it sound even more stunning on PS5 Pro.
Originally planned as a prequel to Pearl Abyss' 2015 MMO Black Desert Online, Crimson Desert has since evolved into its own single-player action-adventure tale spanning across an entire open-world medieval continent. Early impressions have shown off Crimson Desert's dynamic combat, featuring strategic gameplay and a combo-heavy melee system, as well as features like massive boss monsters, plenty of armaments to pick from, the ability to fight from the back of a mount, and a bevy of side activities like fishing, hunting, cooking, and crafting.
Open-World RPG Crimson Desert Showcases Massive Battles, Questing, and More
Pearl Abyss shares new gameplay footage from Crimson Desert's latest demo, which will be playable at Gamescom and PAX West 2025.
Crimson Desert Confirms PS5 Pro Upgrades
Now, studio director Will Powers has confirmed that these features will be able to spring to life in greater visual detail with the support of the PlayStation 5 Pro. An announcement from mid-January stated that Crimson Desert had gone gold two months ahead of its planned worldwide release, and in a more recent interview with YouTuber Destin, Powers mentioned that the game's development process had entered its optimization phase. Now, the team is currently working to see how the game will perform across different platforms. Part of the discussion over optimization was centered around the potential of PS5 Pro enhancements, which Powers confirmed will be present. However, since optimization is ongoing, he is not able to provide PS5 Pro owners with a detailed list of every single enhancement they can expect to see in the game's launch state at this time.
As of now, Crimson Desert is set for release on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC on March 19. Graphically, there are expected to be some differences in the visual presentation across different consoles and PC, as the development team has been trying to pack in a ton of modern technology into its presentation. Just a few of the visual features mentioned by Powers in the recent interview include atmospheric scattering, volumetric clouds, ray marching illumination, and ray regeneration. These features and others haven't yet been seen in action by potential players, as Powers noted that all official gameplay videos released so far have been presented with them turned off.
That's an impressive claim, considering that the upcoming game's ridiculous graphics have been one of its most attractive attributes ahead of its launch. While players on different platforms will have a lot of options allowing them to customize their visual experience while playing Crimson Desert, based on the power of their hardware, the game's graphics will still be a sight to see even at the standard settings. "And then, if you want to further optimize, then you can tweak all the settings and do all the things, but we want to show that you don't have to," he explained. "Like, the game itself should be able to stand on its own."
Pearl Abyss Wants Crimson Desert to be Accessible to All Players
Obviously, the enhancements offered by the PS5 Pro and higher-end PCs will offer players more options when it comes to optimizing visual experiences, and Powers looks forward to being able to go into greater detail on what these features will include after the optimization phose reaches its conclusion. However, he indicated that players on the standard PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and lower-end PCs should still have a very good time playing Crimson Desert, and he wants to keep the experience open to as many fans as possible.
Who’s That Character?
Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
One additional question Powers fielded was whether the Steam Deck would be able to support Crimson Desert's massive open world, which is reportedly twice the size of the one in The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim. That's another answer that will have to wait until after the optimization phase for a solid answer, though in terms of minimum system requirements, he believes that the Steam Deck should be able to support the game. With the release date looming, fans shouldn't have too long to wait to see the different features across different platforms, including the newly announced special features on PS5 Pro.
OpenCritic Reviews
- Released
- March 19, 2026
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood, Drug Reference, Intense Violence, Strong Language
- Developer(s)
- Pearl Abyss
- Publisher(s)
- Pearl Abyss
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Action, Adventure, Open-World, Exploration
