Crimson Desert has landed to a mixed reception – but some serious sales numbers. Developer Pearl Abyss has confirmed that the open-world adventure has sold 2 million copies, and the studio vows expedient improvements to address the issues players are having.
"We are incredibly humbled to share that Crimson Desert has sold through 2 million copies worldwide," the game's official account shares on Twitter. "Thank you so much to our fans, community, and everyone who has joined us in Pywel. We will listen closely to the wide range of feedback shared by the community and work to make improvements quickly, doing our utmost to make the journey ahead even more enjoyable for our players."
2 million copies mark an impressive debut for Crimson Desert, especially considering the mixed reception it's gotten on day one. Its Metacritic score sits at a 78, which is somehow low enough to sink Pearl Abyss's share price. Steam reviews have been at an even lower 'Mixed' average, citing a "bland" story and "ridiculously bad" controls.
Of course, a substantial number of those copies sold likely came before the critical and public response started to roll in, in the form of pre-orders. Still, it's good to know the devs are proactively taking steps to address the criticism, as evidenced by the swath of day one and early patches that have already landed to fix various problems.
As Joel writes in our Crimson Desert review, it's a "messy" game, "but as you untangle its mechanics and compensate for its flaws, elements of genius and wonder make the experience worthwhile." Here's hoping the patches to come make those flaws a little less pervasive.
Check out our guides to Crimson Desert skills or Crimson Desert weapons if you're looking to get your build right.
