Pearl Abyss appears to have much bigger ambitions for Crimson Desert than simply releasing the game and moving on. Following its March 19 launch, the developer has outlined several areas it wants to explore, including DLC, multiplayer, additional platform support, and continued improvements to the world of Pywel.
Crimson Desert launched on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S after going gold roughly two months before release. Since then, Pearl Abyss has continued supporting the game through free updates.
Those patches haven’t focused exclusively on bug fixes either. The studio has also used them to expand how players can interact with the world, suggesting that Crimson Desert’s current version is only the beginning.
Pearl Abyss Wants Crimson Desert to Become a Major Series
One of the biggest takeaways from Pearl Abyss’s recent roadmap is how the company views Crimson Desert itself.
Rather than treating the game as a standalone RPG, Pearl Abyss wants to establish Crimson Desert as one of its flagship franchises. That opens the door to considerably more content beyond the original release.
The first major step will be DLC.
Pearl Abyss has confirmed that additional downloadable content is planned for Crimson Desert. According to information shared alongside its Q2 2026 earnings, the company expects to reveal more details during the third quarter.
That gives Pearl Abyss until September 30, 2026 to provide a clearer picture of what players can expect.
However, the company has not yet decided exactly how large its long-term DLC strategy will become. The number of expansions, their size, and how long post-launch development could continue all remain undecided.
Much may depend on player demand and the performance of the first expansion.
Crimson Desert Multiplayer Could Become a Major Expansion
Multiplayer is another area Pearl Abyss is considering.
The studio sees enough potential in the idea that multiplayer could eventually become a substantial expansion for Crimson Desert, rather than a small cooperative feature added through a regular update.
However, players should not expect multiplayer immediately.
Adding multiplayer to a game built primarily around a single-player experience introduces significant technical challenges. Networking, world synchronization, combat systems, quests, progression, NPC behavior, and numerous other mechanics would potentially need to work across multiple players simultaneously.
As a result, Pearl Abyss has not announced a multiplayer release window or explained exactly what form the feature could take.
For now, multiplayer should therefore be considered a long-term possibility rather than confirmed upcoming content.
Still, the fact that Pearl Abyss is openly discussing the concept shows how far the developer may be willing to expand Crimson Desert.
A Crimson Desert Switch 2 Version Is Already Playable
Nintendo players may also eventually get their chance to explore Pywel.
Pearl Abyss has been working on bringing Crimson Desert to Nintendo Switch 2, and the project has apparently progressed beyond a simple internal experiment.
A foundational version of the game is already playable.
That does not mean the port is ready for release, though. Pearl Abyss still needs to conduct further optimization and evaluate whether the game can consistently deliver an acceptable experience on Nintendo’s hardware.
Crimson Desert is a technically demanding open-world game, making performance one of the biggest challenges facing any Switch 2 version.
Nevertheless, Pearl Abyss is reportedly considering a first-half 2027 launch window.
The developer has not committed to that timeframe yet, meaning further optimization work could push the release back.
If development progresses successfully, however, Switch 2 could become the fourth major platform to receive Crimson Desert.
Mobile Isn’t Planned — But Pearl Abyss Is Still Experimenting
A mobile version is much less certain.
Pearl Abyss currently has no plans to release Crimson Desert on mobile devices. However, the company continues researching ways to optimize its proprietary BlackSpace Engine for mobile hardware.
That distinction is important.
The research does not necessarily mean a Crimson Desert mobile port is secretly in development. Instead, Pearl Abyss appears to be investigating how far its technology can scale across different hardware configurations.
BlackSpace Engine remains a critical part of the company’s future, and improving its scalability could benefit other Pearl Abyss projects even if Crimson Desert itself never reaches smartphones or tablets.
For the moment, PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and potentially Switch 2 remain the platforms that matter most for Crimson Desert.
Free Crimson Desert Updates Will Continue
Pearl Abyss is also continuing to improve the existing game.
Since launch, Crimson Desert has received free patches designed to address persistent bugs while expanding player interaction with Pywel.
That approach could become especially important if Pearl Abyss intends to support the game for several years.
Instead of placing every new feature behind paid DLC, free updates can keep the existing community active while larger expansions introduce more substantial additions.
It also gives Pearl Abyss an opportunity to refine systems before introducing something as technically ambitious as multiplayer.
Gamescom Could Give Us Our Next Look at Crimson Desert’s Future
Players may not have to wait particularly long for more information.
Crimson Desert will appear at Gamescom in August, giving Pearl Abyss another major opportunity to discuss the game’s future.
The timing is particularly interesting because the company has already indicated that more information regarding its DLC plans should arrive before the end of September.
Gamescom could therefore provide the first major glimpse at what comes next.
Even if the DLC itself isn’t fully revealed during the event, Pearl Abyss has a relatively short window remaining before its promised Q3 update.
Crimson Desert Could Become Much Bigger Over the Next Year
The most interesting part of Pearl Abyss’s roadmap isn’t necessarily one individual feature. Instead, it is the scale of the company’s ambition.
Crimson Desert launched as a massive open-world RPG, but Pearl Abyss clearly isn’t treating March 19 as the end of development.
Free updates are continuing. DLC is already planned. Multiplayer is being explored. A Switch 2 version has reached a playable state. Meanwhile, BlackSpace Engine optimization could help Pearl Abyss bring its technology to even more hardware in the future.
Not every idea is guaranteed to reach players.
Multiplayer remains technically complicated, the Switch 2 release window could change, and Pearl Abyss hasn’t decided how extensive Crimson Desert’s DLC lineup will ultimately become.
However, one thing is becoming increasingly clear: Pearl Abyss wants Crimson Desert to become a long-term franchise rather than a one-and-done release.
With Gamescom approaching and more DLC information expected before September 30, the next several weeks could reveal just how large the developer’s plans for Pywel really are.
