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Pearl Abyss Clarifies Crimson Desert Monetisation
Pearl Abyss is best known for Black Desert, a long-running MMORPG built around live-service systems and monetisation mechanics that have become common across the genre. With Crimson Desert positioned as the studio’s next flagship release, some players questioned whether similar microtransaction models would follow.
As anticipation builds toward launch, Pearl Abyss has now directly addressed those concerns. According to the studio, Crimson Desert will not feature microtransactions.
A Premium Experience From Day One
Speaking during an appearance on Dropped Frames, Pearl Abyss Director of Marketing Will Powers confirmed that Crimson Desert has always been designed as a premium title. Players will only need to purchase the game once to access the full experience.
Powers emphasised that the project was never structured around ongoing digital storefront sales. There will be no in-game shop offering cosmetic items for real money, nor any form of post-launch microtransaction system tied to gameplay progression.
While pre-order bonuses may include cosmetic incentives, they will not be available in the live in-game marketplace. The studio’s stated goal is to deliver a complete experience at launch rather than a platform built around recurring monetisation.
Moving Beyond Black Desert’s MMO Roots
The clarification marks an important shift for Pearl Abyss. Whereas Black Desert operates within the established live-service MMO framework, Crimson Desert is positioned as a standalone open-world action RPG focused on narrative and exploration.
The game follows Kliff, a mercenary seeking to reunite the scattered Greymanes after a devastating conflict with the Black Bears faction. What begins as a search mission gradually expands into a much larger struggle across the continent of Pywel.
With development complete, Crimson Desert is scheduled to launch on March 19 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and PC.
