Crimson Desert update pace slows as Pearl Abyss shifts focus to DLC

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One of the odder surprises from Gamescom Opening Night Live was the reveal of Crimson Desert Enhanced . It partly encompasses a brand-new 2.0 update adding substantially more depth to the game's story , but it's a soft rebrand that marks the culmination of all the work developer Pearl Abyss has done to improve Crimson Desert since launch. Those free updates are now slowing down so that the studio can shift its focus to the upcoming DLC.

"I think this is a great transition point," PR and marketing director Will Powers explains in an interview with IGN . "We've had this great pace of updates continually expanding the world of Pywell. With 2.0, this is all very purposeful in how we name stuff. This is very much a fully realized experience within the world."

Powers explains that "while there still will be updates, I don't think the scope, scale, and pace of them will be as consistent past this point. What we're taking this opportunity to do is shift our development resources from these regular updates to focus on the upcoming DLC."

That big Crimson Desert DLC is still set to launch later this year , and after the main game's wild success Pearl Abyss has plenty more plans for further expansion of the budding franchise . We don't have any concrete details on what that DLC will look like or what those follow-ups will actually be, but after five months of expansive updates and massive unit sales , I think Crimson Desert has already more than proven itself.

Crimson Desert did so well that developer Pearl Abyss reported 94% increased labor expenses due to "performance bonus payments" made to 1,035 employees.