"Crimson Desert is not a one-off title": Pearl Abyss is open to "sequ…

Crimson Desert developer Pearl Abyss seems to be preparing itself for an extended crimson universe after the open-world everything game's irrefutable success – it made $200 million in only two weeks, so why shouldn't the developer want to replicate that achievement with a Crimson Desert sequel, or four?

I'm sure this idea is especially tantalizing to Pearl Abyss now that Crimson Desert, which only launched in March, is already seeing its sales slow down according to a new Q2 2026 financial report. Pearl Abyss describes a weak Q2 "as the initial launch impact of Crimson Desert softened," but it seems interested in getting sales churning again by birthing a whole Crimson Desert galaxy. It says it's "open to various possibilities – including add-on content, platform expansion, and sequel titles."

Pearl Abyss is even pondering a multiplayer mode for the currently MMO-lite single-player game, given its "dynamic action combat and expansive open-world structure." musojam.blog

"There is significant potential for expansion into multiplayer modes," declares the developer, though it admits "integrating multiplayer functionality is far more complex than simply adding a new game mode; it represents a major technical initiative that requires comprehensive evaluation of server architecture, game balance, cross-platform stability, and live service operation models."

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All of that is for future Pearl Abyss to worry about "Our immediate development priority is centered on Crimson Desert DLCs and our next pipelines," Pearl Abyss explains. It doesn't elaborate further on the possibility of a Crimson Desert sequel, or explain what other "add-on content" it's considering, but Pearl Abyss does, at least, share a couple of hazy details about the upcoming DLC it had confirmed earlier this summer.

While the developer reiterates that this DLC is under construction, it is nonetheless "scheduled for release this year while we refine its content direction and overall quality." We'll learn more about the DLC – including its price, exact launch date, and what the hell it actually includes – in Q3.

Though, Pearl Abyss is already thinking way beyond that. The developer emphasizes "Crimson Desert is not a one-off title." Instead, the developer sees main character Kliff's adventure through sand dunes and imposing monsters as only the humble start to "a core flagship IP of our company designed for longterm growth and expansion."

"Regarding the broader Crimson Desert franchise," Pearl Abyss adds, "we will evaluate future development opportunities in due course as we service the main game and its DLCs."

The developer wants to keep refining Crimson Desert, having already gladly issued a mountain of free updates and improvements to core gameplay in the few months since the fantasy game launched. And after reading Pearl Abyss' most recent financial report, I can understand why. When you think you have a cash cow, you want to treat it well.

Crimson Desert finally fixes one of its most annoying bugs after weeks of complaints.

It's taken a while - a long while - but DokeV, a Pokemon-like monster-collector from Crimson Desert studio Pearl Abyss, is eyed for release in the next couple of years. The company revealed the potential launch window in its latest earnings report, along with an upbeat report on how development is going.

"DokeV is progressing smoothly by leveraging the development assets and production experience accumulated from our previous projects," the studio says. "Having moved beyond the foundational system setup, the project is currently in the phase of expanding content creation and validating the core gameplay loop."

Basically, it sounds like the devs are filling out the map, making sure all the mechanics work, and putting systems in place for growing the base game. All positive stuff, and the really good part is what's next.

"We are targeting a launch in the second half of 2028," the report reads, "and both information releases and marketing initiatives will be executed in phases according to our development milestones."

That may be two years away, but a launch window is a launch window. If you're struggling to remember this project, you need to cast your mind back to 2019 - yes, really - where Pearl Abyss revealed DokeV after a period of ambiguity. The first proper trailer arrived at GamesCom in 2021, and we've only really had scraps since.

The publisher says the publicity machine for DokeV will kick off properly in the back half of 2027, "including hands-on playable demos and sequential information reveals." There probably won't be many trailers or teasers before then, because Pearl Abyss is wary of doing anything too early.

"Learning from past experience that releasing content too early can lead to hype fatigue, we plan to showcase the game at a timing that fully demonstrates its quality and vision," the studio adds. Todd Howard is nodding in approval, while staring at all the inquiries about The Elder Scrolls 6.

The plan was previously to have this out a year and a half later than Crimson Desert. The devs will miss that goal, but not by much. And after this much time, it's just good to see the game acknowledged at all.

Crimson Desert DLC is coming "this year" as part of "various follow-up strategies" at Pearl Abyss