12 March 2026

Crimson Desert Makes Controversial Change Just One Week Before Launch

By newsgame

Just one week before its release, developer Pearly Abyss has quietly added Denuvo DRM, a controversial anti-tampering technology, to the PC version of Crimson Desert. Gamers around the world have been eagerly awaiting the launch of Crimson Desert, which officially launches for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC on March 19. But the addition of Denuvo DRM has many PC users concerned about possible performance issues that could arise, especially on older hardware.

It may not be out yet, but Crimson Desert already looks to be a strong contender for game of the year. What initially started out as a prequel to Pearl Abyss’ 2015 MMO, Black Desert Online, would eventually become a standalone action-adventure game with tons of RPG elements, a new setting, and plenty of story-driven content for players to sink their teeth into. Crimson Desert also boasts an ambitiously large open-world, which is said to be larger than Red Dead Redemption 2 and twice the size of Skyrim, making it one of the most anticipated titles of the year.

In My Eyes, Crimson Desert’s Massive Open World Still Has One Thing Left to Prove

Crimson Desert looks massive and impressive, but its open world still leaves one question lingering over my head.

Crimson Desert Adds Denuvo DRM to PC Version

The hype around Pearl Abyss’s next title is monumental, with Crimson Desert already surpassing 2 million wishlists in the lead-up to its launch. However, PC users have been left disappointed after discovering that the title is incorporating Denuvo DRM, a controversial type of anti-tampering software. Although the game’s Steam page has been live for many months now, Pearl Abyss has only just updated the game’s information section with details of Denuvo DRM, one week before it is set to be released (first spotted by The Gamer). As expected, this has drawn criticism from the community, with many now cautious about how Crimson Desert will perform on PC. “This was the nail in the coffin for PC players,” one user said, while another responded with, “Very, very bad decision.”

Balance the critic averages

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For those who might be unaware, Denuvo DRM has long been a controversial choice for a variety of reasons. The third-party software is used by developers to make it more difficult for a game to be tampered with, thus protecting it from piracy. However, it’s often criticized by gamers, largely due to the performance issues that it can sometimes bring, such as lower FPS, increased CPU usage, and more. This isn’t necessarily down to Denuvo, but can be due to poor implementation on the developer’s side. It’s also sparked controversy in the past for its online checks. Although players don’t need to have a constant internet connection, there have been instances in the past where server outages have prevented gamers from playing single-player titles.

Sadly, this isn’t the first controversy Pearl Abyss has had in the lead-up to Crimson Desert‘s release. While the developer has shown tons of gameplay footage to the world during new trailers, fans have been sceptical about the potential performance on consoles, specifically on PS5. Although hype for the title is at an all-time high, many felt that Pearl Abyss was “hiding” something regarding Crimson Desert‘s PS5 performance. This speculation then sparked a response from one of the game’s developers, who said they were “sick of having to repeat [themselves]” and that details regarding console performance would arrive before launch.

Sure enough, details about Crimson Desert‘s performance modes on PS5 were then revealed earlier this week, confirming three different modes for the console: Performance, which is 1080p at 60 FPS, Balanced, which is upscaled 4K resolution at 40 FPS, and Quality, once again upscaled 4K from 1440p with high raytracing and 30 FPS. Those with the PlayStation 5’s beefier Pro console will be able to get even better performance from Crimson Desert, with its Quality mode outputting native 4K resolution with 30 FPS and ultra raytracing.