Five months later, Crimson Desert feels bigger than ever

When Crimson Desert launched in March 2026, it was already a ridiculously ambitious open-world adventure packed with combat, exploration, strange activities and plenty of ways to get distracted. Somehow, Pearl Abyss has spent the following five months making it even bigger. Its new Update Highlights overview shows just how much has changed since release, with 17 patches, more than 20 new features and content additions, over 120 new pets and mounts, and more than 70 outfits, equipment pieces and other items added so far.

Some of those updates have gone far beyond simple bug fixes. Earlier patches introduced new skills for the playable characters, additional difficulty options and improved inventory management, while Boss Rematch and Re-Blockade gave players more reasons to return to challenging encounters. Pearl Abyss has also kept adding smaller sandbox features, from new pets and minigames to farming improvements and dozens of little quality-of-life changes.

Things became even more interesting when rideable Wyverns arrived, giving players another very cool way to travel across Pywel. Housing has also grown considerably, including outdoor decoration, new crafting tools and dozens of additional furniture items. Then came cross-save support, allowing progress to carry between PlayStation, Xbox, Steam and the Epic Games Store.

The open world keeps getting bigger

One of the biggest recent additions is the revamped trading system. Update 1.16 brought 133 trading posts, new trade goods, wagon workshops, improved pricing and profits, minimap routes and a dedicated Trade tab. It might not sound as flashy as riding a Wyvern into the sunset, but it gives players yet another system to disappear into for hours.

That constant expansion helps explain why Crimson Desert has built such an enthusiastic following. You don't have to look far through its community to find players calling it one of the greatest open worlds they've experienced, with some even describing it as their favourite or best open-world game ever. Steam players have similarly praised the scale and ambition of its world, although naturally not everyone agrees with that lofty title. Even PC Gamer now lists it among its standout open-world games, highlighting just how many systems and activities Pearl Abyss has packed into the experience.

And Pearl Abyss clearly isn't finished yet. Five months after release, Crimson Desert already feels noticeably larger than the game players originally bought.

If all that sounds like the kind of open-world rabbit hole you want to fall into, use our price comparison tool to find the best prices for Crimson Desert and start exploring Pywel for yourself.