After years of hype, Crimson Desert suddenly became controversial after new questions arose about Denuvo and performance two weeks ago. Today, we know that Crimson Desert sold 2 million units, but the issues have not ended.
The biggest issue going around is generative AI use. Pearly Abyss just apologized for using AI to make placeholder in-game paintings, and not disclosing it. There remain standing accusations they used AI to localize the game for Germany and Spain.
For the next issue, Intel allegedly claimed that Pearl Abyss ignored their communications to make Crimson Desert compatible with their Arc GPUs. Pearl Abyss’ FAQ apparently told Intel Arc users to refund their games, but has now pledged to make it compatible instead.
There are also uncorroborated claims that Crimson Desert had troubled development. There were power struggles between higher level staff, and they hastily copied The Legend of Zelda: Tears of The Kingdom when it came out.
In the middle of all this, the game reached a SteamdB peak of 248,530 players. Pearl Abyss pushed a major update over the weekend improving controls, adding storage and Abyss Nexuses, and more.
All things taken into account, Crimson Desert is a controversial success.