Crimson Desert has been delayed to Q1 2026

Pearl Abyss has announced that it has delayed its open-world action adventure game, Crimson Desert, to Q1 2026. It was planned to be released in late 2025. The announcement came in the company’s Q2 2025 earnings call.

A Q1 2026 release window would be around January 1 to March 31, 2026.

Here is the statement from Pearl Abyss from its conference call (Thanks Gematsu):

“Currently, Crimson Desert has been in the process of voice-overs, while also carrying out tasks such as console certification in preparation for its release. In the case of marketing, we plan to participate in Gamescom and PAX West this August to showcase our open-world build. And in September, we will join the Tokyo Game Show to strengthen our marketing efforts in the Japanese market.”

“The launch of Crimson Desert, our first large-scale AAA console game, has been unavoidably delayed by one quarter, from the previously announced schedule. This is due to longer than expected timelines arising from schedule coordination and collaborations with multiple partners for offline distribution, voice-overs, console certification, and other launch preparations. We sincerely apologize for not being able to meet the originally promised fourth quarter launch schedule. Please kindly understand that this is a strategic decision aimed at insuring success on a meaningful scale.”

Pearl Abyss may have planned to reveal the official Crimson Desert release date at Gamescom before the delay:

“The release date has been internally confirmed for Q1 2026. However, given the change in launch timing, we will announce the date at a more appropriate time based on business considerations, rather than making an announcement at Gamescom next week.”

When Crimson Desert releases, it will launch on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and PC via Steam.