Crimson Desert Studio Wants to Strike Balance Between Raising Awareness and Not Over-Promising

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As the March 19th release of Crimson Desert nears, Pearl Abyss’s marketing and PR director, Will Powers, has shared details about how the game’s announcement has been received. In an interview with IGN, Powers discussed the marketing strategy, explaining the studio’s goal to generate excitement for Crimson Desert without making promises they can’t keep, which could lead to player frustration.

Pearl Abyss is aware that fans have high hopes for this new game, given the success of their previous MMORPG set in the same world. Interestingly, the game’s original design and the team’s past experience are actually what make it stand out.

It’s crucial to find the right balance when promoting a game. You don’t want to create unrealistic expectations that will disappoint players when it finally launches – it’s important not to over-promise. Especially with a game that has such a strong history and comes from a studio known for a massively popular online game with over 55 million players worldwide, managing expectations is key, while still generating excitement.”

This company has a strong track record, so there’s a lot of internal pressure to make their next project even better. They likely expect more from themselves than anyone else does.

I’m really excited about Crimson Desert! Pearl Abyss has a ton of experience building huge, shared worlds, and they’re bringing that knowledge to this single-player game. They’re even using systems from other games they’ve made, which is pretty interesting. Honestly, a lot of us fans are saying we’ve never really seen anything quite like it – it feels totally fresh!

This game has evolved from its original concept. It’s now a blend of different ideas, shaped by its history and building on what came before.

Regarding the lengthy wait since Crimson Desert was first announced in 2020, Powers admitted the development team revealed the game too early, which created some internal challenges. However, this time wasn’t spent idly; Pearl Abyss used it to build a new game engine and make significant technical improvements.

Looking back, Powers acknowledged that announcing the game so far in advance – six and a half years – wasn’t ideal. It’s unusual for games to be announced that early. However, he believes it unintentionally created a sense of mystery and excitement around the project, which he now sees as a positive outcome.

Despite the game’s initial secrecy, the studio’s recent decision to share more about Crimson Desert has had an unexpected effect, according to one observer. He wondered if releasing six hours of gameplay footage would shift the conversation from ‘What is this game?’ to ‘Is this too good to be true?’ or ‘How can this possibly be fake?’

We want to be completely transparent and earn back trust, as we previously presented this differently. Because of past choices made five or six years ago, we felt it was necessary to go above and beyond what’s expected in a typical game to address those earlier missteps.

The open-world game Crimson Desert will be available on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S. While you’re waiting for it to launch, check out the conversation around its unique ability to speed up dialogue, as well as our impressions of its combat and open world.

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2026-03-05 19:42