There’s a Problem With Crimson Desert Physical Editions (and It Exposes a Problem With Modern Gaming)

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Honestly, if I spent all day talking about all the drama around Crimson Desert, I still wouldn’t cover it all. It feels like the internet is simultaneously tearing the game down and hyping it up, and it’s getting ridiculous. Fans are really divided, and there’s so much speculation flying around that it’s going to hang over the game’s launch no matter what. I’m starting to get a little burnt out even talking about it – even though that’s kinda my job, and I try to keep things positive. I’m really hoping the conversation gets a bit more thoughtful soon.

Despite all the debate about whether Crimson Desert will run well on the standard PS5 or live up to expectations, a significant issue with the physical release has emerged that deserves attention. The game doesn’t work immediately upon opening, and this is a growing concern for collectors and anyone who likes to own a fully functional product they’ve purchased.

Crimson Desert’s Physical Disc Still Requires A Digital Download

By 2026, it feels like worrying about the decline of physical media, particularly for video games, is pointless. While physical copies haven’t completely disappeared – Nintendo still strongly supports them – most people seem happy to switch to digital versions. It’s not that everyone has given up on owning games, and many collectors still love displaying their collections. But with physical sales decreasing and digital downloads and cloud gaming becoming more popular, it’s clear that people aren’t as concerned with having a physical disc as they used to be.

This likely explains why developers like Pearl Abyss are shipping games with only a portion of the data on the physical disc. The upcoming PC version of Crimson Desert is expected to be over 150 GB, far too large to fit on a single PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X disc. While games like Red Dead Redemption 2 and Cyberpunk 2077 previously handled large file sizes by using two discs, Crimson Desert takes a different approach. If you buy the $70 physical copy, you’ll receive a disc containing only a portion of the game, and the rest will need to be downloaded as an update – on top of any day-one patch.

People who buy Crimson Desert digitally won’t be impacted by this issue, so it doesn’t really concern them. However, for those of us buying a physical copy, it’s a significant problem. The game won’t work right away and requires an internet connection to download the rest of the content. Even after the download, you don’t truly own the full game you purchased. While you can play offline once the update is complete, the update itself is still required. At this point, there’s very little difference between the physical and digital versions of Crimson Desert – it basically comes down to having a plastic case and some artwork.

Crimson Desert’s Pointless Physical Edition Showcases A Worrying Trend

It’s true that the large PlayStation Pro update for Crimson Desert, combined with the extensive day-one patch, essentially makes a physical disc incomplete, even with the need for an additional download. If the game had been released on two discs, it would likely have been an outdated version, finalized before Pearl Abyss could fix all the performance issues. However, this situation isn’t just about Crimson Desert; it highlights a larger problem that led to the incomplete physical release in the first place.

The move away from physical game copies has been concerning for a while, with many publishers and studios seemingly giving up on boxed games altogether. Although some still claim they’ll continue to support physical releases, Xbox’s decision to stop producing them, combined with the growing need for day-one patches, means physical copies will likely become obsolete. This trend is probably irreversible on a large scale. Unlike vinyl records, which offer a different listening experience, a physical game isn’t inherently better quality than a digital download. Plus, with game manuals and inserts largely disappearing, there’s little reason to expect a comeback for physical games like we’ve seen with vinyl.

As a gamer, it really bums me out to see a huge game like Crimson Desert – one that’s probably going to make a ton of money – launch with such a basic physical version. It feels like another sign that physical copies are becoming a thing of the past, and honestly, it’s pretty depressing. I really wish we’d still see boxed games in stores, not just digital downloads. It would be awesome to actually own the games we buy, instead of just renting a license. But with Crimson Desert leading the charge, it feels like that dream is as far off as the game’s world of Pywel itself – a nice thought, but probably not going to happen.

What are your thoughts on the limited physical release of Crimson Desert? Share your opinion in the comments and join the discussion on the ComicBook Forum!

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2026-03-17 19:14