There is yet another unexpected 3rd party game that is rumored to be coming to the Nintendo Switch 2.
As shared on the GamingLeaksAndRumours subreddit by user 1vortex_, GameStop’s listings for upcoming Switch 2 games straight up includes Pearl Abyss’ upcoming open world action game, Crimson Desert. There is no additional information on the page, but we have a good feeling that by the time you read this, the game will still show up in these listings if you click through the links.
Crimson Desert was originally announced in 2019 as the sequel to their MMO Black Desert Online. However, a year later, Pearl Abyss made the surprising and interesting decision to pivot and make it their first single player game. Pearl Abyss started showing us more previews of the game in 2024, particularly highlighting the abilities of their custom Blackspace game engine.
Pearl Abyss locked down Crimson Desert’s release date to later this year, but they have only announced it so far for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. What makes this rumor unusual is this game would be the first one Pearl Abyss would publish on a Nintendo platform. So, either Pearl Abyss or Nintendo made contact so that they could add the Switch 2 as a platform.
Since this came from a GameStop listing, it’s heavily implied that it will also be coming for the Switch 2’s launch year. In fact, it’s possible that it will be part of one launch date across multiple platforms. For Pearl Abyss to have prepared the Switch 2 version for launch, they would have also needed to get a dev kit, from at least two years ago if not longer. That is not impossible, but for a first time project between Pearl Abyss and Nintendo, it would have been highly unusual.
But it also recontextualizes something Pearl Abyss claimed all the way back in October 2024. Pearl Abyss said Sony offered a publishing deal for Crimson Desert and they rejected it. Looking back, it’s possible that Pearl Abyss already made a deal with Nintendo, not for exclusivity, but to make Crimson Desert one of many titles for the Switch 2’s launch year.
It also seems to be a really smart choice in hindsight, as there’s a catch to letting Sony publish your games if you’re an independent developer. As Arrowhead Game Studios and Shift Up found out, even if Sony will bring your games to PC, you’ll be region locked away from countries where Sony didn’t work to bring in PSN services. If anything, you would be better off working with Xbox, who will allow you to still bring your game to PlayStation, and give you plum Game Pass and/or marketing deals.
But Pearl Abyss seems confident they can publish Crimson Desert on their own, meaning they have full control over their and their game’s destiny. We’re looking forward to if this rumor is true, and to how well their Blackspace engine works out on the Switch 2.
