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The release of Crimson Desert, the new action-RPG from Pearl Abyss is drawing near, and previews are starting to filter out, including from GamesRadar+. As footage and opinions arrive, conspiracy theories about not seeing the game running on consoles are bubbling up, prompting some frustration from PR.
"We're not hiding anything, and I'm sick of having to repeat myself," Will Powers, the PR and marketing director at Pearl Abyss, says on Twitter. "I've repeated [hundreds] of times that we'll reveal things ahead of launch to give people adequate time to still preorder the game for themselves."
He's responding to someone who accuses the studio of "hiding all console footage." Powers implies there's plenty more to come on the publicity trail. "We're saying this openly... Let us cook? Please and thank you," he finishes.
We're not hiding anything, and I'm sick of having to repeat myself.I've repeated 100s of times that we'll reveal things ahead of launch to give people adequate time to still preorder the game for themselves. We're saying this openly... Let us cook? Please and thank you. /rant https://t.co/9O67ZQJFneMarch 4, 2026
As highlighted in his replies, some of the concern stems from Cyberpunk 2077, and how CD Projekt Red worked to obfuscate the issues within that game before it came out. Crimson Desert's a similarly ambitious fantasy epic, where you can roam around the world of Pywel and ride dragons and the like, and some are worried about how well it'll run on all platforms.
But there's still time for showcases centered on the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X builds. While the couple of waves of preview access have been PC-centric, it's probable console versions will be included in reviews, and given the comments from Powers, other materials as well, demonstrating just how well the sandbox works on the other systems.
For now, such concern is a pre-emptive red flag, not entirely based on anything Pearl Abyss has done. If we get right up to release and we still haven't seen much, then it might be time to worry, but until then, it's important to let the company work. Crimson Desert comes out on March 19.
