Crimson Desert Set To Launch March 29

Finally, a post about Crimson Desert not due to a Pearl Abyss earnings call. The single-player RPG announced by Pearl Abyss back in 2019 announced a launch date of 19 March 2026 on both Steam and Playstation.

The Steam announcement for Crimson Desert

One has to wonder if the South Korean game studio succumbed to investor pressure to announce the launch of the game. Back on the Pearl Abyss Q2 2025 earnings call held on 13 August investment analysts signaled their distrust of the company's pronouncements about the game due to the CEO telling those on the call that Crimson Desert would not launch in 2025. An hour after the end of the call the stock price fell by over 20%.

The release date does avoid the launch window of the most anticipated game of 2026, Grand Theft Auto VI. Despite rumors the release date officially is set for 26 May 2026. Crimson Desert should have two months before the gaming world goes crazy over GTA VI.

Pearl Abyss stock up 5.3% after the release date was announced

The Korean NASDAQ took the news favorably with share prices increasing by 5.3% in trading on Thursday. I have two questions. First, how much trust did Pearl Abyss burn with investors with the way the company strung them along over the past few years? Second, despite all the delays, is Pearl Abyss rushing to release Crimson Desert to save face with investors?