Crimson Desert developer and publisher Pearl Abyss has issued its latest financial results, revealing just how much money the breakout hit adventure game has made for the company, while also confirming plans to explore DLC.
The single-player open world fantasy action game has sold a hugely impressive 5 million copies since going on sale on March 19. Korean company Pearl Abyss reported its financials for the first quarter of 2026, so up to the end of March. That means its revenue figures only include a couple weeks of Crimson Desert sales.
Still, up to the end of March, Pearl Abyss said Crimson Desert brought in KRW 266.5 billion (approx. $178.8 million). Interestingly, the sales split between console and PC is approximately 50:50. Pearl Abyss also explained that when it comes to revenue recognition, for console, revenue is recognized after deducting platform fees (this is the money publishers pay Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo — typically 30% — on sales on their consoles), while PC revenue is recognized after deducting taxes from user payments. (Steam also takes a cut on all sales on its platform.) More than 80% of Crimson Desert’s sales came from North America and Europe. Clearly, Crimson Desert was a massive hit in the west.
And it doesn’t stop there. Looking ahead, Pearl Abyss projected revenue from Crimson Desert for the full year to come in at KRW 644.1~734.8 billion (approx. $432.2 million~$514.4 million). That means if Crimson Desert performs at the top line of Pearl Abyss’ estimate for 2026, it will end the year having brought in over half a billion dollars.
Crimson Desert revenue is expected to “soften” in the second quarter of 2026, Pearl Abyss said, because initial sales are front-loaded. But the company expects to maintain “stable performance,” supported by continuous patches and updates (remarkably, Pearl Abyss has released game-changing updates for Crimson Desert on an almost weekly basis since launch).
There’s also word of labor expenses more than doubling in the second quarter, due to the performance bonus payment Pearl Abyss announced recently off the back of Crimson Desert’s success. The company has 1,024 employees as it stands, although it sounds like that number will decrease slightly as contractors brought in for the launch of Crimson Desert leave the company.
Crimson Desert fans, though, want to know what’s next for the game. Yes, the updates have improved the playing experience significantly since launch, but will Pearl Abyss expand the game with DLC or perhaps even story expansions? Reporting its financials, Pearl Abyss teased that DLC is indeed on the way.
“New Pipelines and Growth Strategy Crimson Desert will continue to focus on enhancing user satisfaction and driving new sales through continuous updates, while expanding its market presence through platform expansion,” Pearl Abyss said. “In addition, we are currently exploring various ways to broaden the game to the next level including DLC. We will share the details once the concrete plans are set.”
What could this DLC involve? Players have gone out of bounds and found various interesting parts of the map with unused content. There's also a named area to the east, called Sunbaked Peaks, that players are currently unable to reach. Perhaps a story expansion could open that up.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
