Crimson Desert passes another major sales milestone

Crimson Desert has sold over 3 million copies in less than a week since its release. After a six-plus-year wait and some questions about its console performance, Pearl Abyss' medieval action-adventure was met with both excitement and skepticism ahead of its launch. Although things got off to a bit of a shaky start, Crimson Desert has seemingly recovered and is now soaring through the sales charts.

Critics didn't love Crimson Desert as much as Pearl Abyss and its investors had hoped, causing the developer's stock to drop sharply just before release day. However, these good-but-not-great reviews didn't stop players who Crimson Desert passed 2 million copies sold in its first day on the market. Still, not everything was positive, with many users finding the game's controls and user interface too intrusive to fully enjoy the massive world. To Pearl Abyss' credit, the developer has responded and is already rolling out patches, and players continue to flock to the game in the meantime.

Crimson Desert sees high player count but mixed reviews at launch

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Crimson Desert launches to impressive player numbers but mixed reviews

The highly anticipated Crimson Desert is drawing an impressive number of players but less than stellar reviews in its first day on Steam.

Crimson Desert sells over 3 million copies in a week

On March 24, Pearl Abyss announced that Crimson Desert had passed the mark of 3 million units sold. It's a remarkable milestone by any measure, but more impressively, the game managed to reach it in just five days after release. For context, Borderlands 4 passed 2.5 million copies sold in about 10 days, so Crimson Desert has surpassed Gearbox's last looter shooter to date, and it did so without the name recognition of a long-running franchise. That's not to say all is well for Pearl Abyss right now, as the game is still facing plenty of criticism, but the game's early success despite the negative feedback may be a sign that disappointing initial reviews weren't enough of a doom Crimson Desert from the beginning.

Crimson Desert Mechanic that makes the game easier

Rising sales figures aren't the only thing trending in the right direction for the open-world title. After starting to mixed impressions, Crimson DesertSteam reviews are now mostly positive on Steam. That change could simply be the result of a larger sample size as more people have played the game, but it could also be a testament to the developers' work on it since launch. Crimson Desert started receiving updates right out of the gate, and while that's par for the course for games today, Pearl Abyss has been vocal about recognizing fans' biggest complaints and working to address them. There's still a long way to go, but it's possible that the promise of ongoing optimization will keep players interested despite the game's rocky start.

A look at the responses under Pearl Abyss' tweet about Crimson Deserts sales will reveal that many players still have major complaints about the game. That said, developers have already started working on some of its most publicized flaws. On March 22, Crimson Desert rolled out a patch to improve its controls, which many users heavily criticized upon launch. It's too early to tell if this change will have a big impact on the perception of the game going forward, but it could at least contribute to ongoing sales and increasingly positive reviews. Further tweaks and fixes are sure to come in the future as well.

Balance the critics' averages

Light (6) Medium (8) Hard (10)

Crimson Desert hasn't been out for a full week yet, so no telling how it will be remembered down the road. Pearl Abyss seems committed to bringing things up to player expectations, but it may also be an uphill battle. Of course, many games throughout history have bounced back from much more disastrous launches, and already selling 3 million copies is a good sign for the developer. While Crimson Desert might not be in the GOTY conversation after its disappointing start, things could turn around for the game.