Crimson Desert, the upcoming action-adventure game from Korean publisher and developer Pearl Abyss that promises to deliver not only a vast open world, but also one that features what’s been described as intense combat and an engrossing storyline, will not be exclusive to PlayStation consoles when it launches in Q2 2025, according to new details that Pearl Abyss shared during its latest IR session, one where the company revealed that Sony had approached it for an exclusivity deal but ultimately decided to deny it. Details of the session, which come by way of a financial blogger, note that while Sony’s offer sounded “favorable,” Pearl Abyss opted to go with the self-publishing route, describing it as being “more beneficial.” A Crimson Desert trailer that comprises 50 minutes of gameplay can be found below.
We spent a lot of time considering our release strategy. Sony has essentially seen the entire game and expressed interest in publishing it, offering several favorable terms. If we had gone with Sony as a publisher, the game would have been exclusive to PlayStation for a year, with no release on Xbox, and PC distribution rights would also belong to Sony. Despite these restrictions, Sony’s marketing power and various unique incentives were appealing. However, after evaluating the expected sales and revenue-sharing structure, we decided that self-publishing would be more beneficial. It’s 99% certain that we will publish the game ourselves.