The long-awaited release date for the frequently impressive looking Crimson Desert is finally here, and it’s coming in Spring 2026.
In case you’d never heard of Crimson Desert, and are now super excited to play it, we’ll fill you in. Crimson Desert is an open-world action adventure set in the beautiful but brutal continent of Pywel.
As for the plot, the developers have shared some details – “A devastating ambush in the deep of night by their sworn enemies the Black Bears leaves members of the Greymanes dead or scattered across the continent. The Greymane Kliff is determined to reunite with his surviving comrades and rebuild what was lost. But on a journey where alliances are forged, dangers abound, and mysterious factions are uncovered, Kliff comes to realize that an unprecedented threat and a destiny greater than he imagined await him.“
I got to play an hour of the game at Summer Game Fest 2025 in Los Angeles. Playing through multiple portions of the game, I was wowed by the plethora of systems on display. “Our demo started roughly 20 or so hours deep into the game. Our main character was powerful, with a huge swath of combat and traversal options. The fighting in the game feels closer to a superhero-powered action platformer. Everything can be comboed together in a physics sandbox the likes of which few games have achieved. Think of a mature Breath of the Wild with far deeper systems.
Combat was never flat, as I learned the moves and began using different combos of them together, I felt like a God. Whether it was slashing, smashing, throwing, or shooting, I could flow from one move to another seamlessly. My favorite power was a huge green palm thrust that I could aim at the ground three times in a row to propel myself up in the air. I would then dive kick down into the ground before palm thrusting back up 20 feet and slamming down with a massive green fist into the ground.“
Crimson Desert releases on March 19th, 2026 on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, PC, and Mac.
Are you interested in Crimson Desert? Let us know in the XboxEra Forums or make some noise on our lively Community Discord.
