Crimson Desert had a rough launch week. When Pearl Abyss’s ambitious open-world action RPG released on March 19, it sold over two million copies in its first 24 hours but received a 78 on Metacritic and a Mixed rating on Steam. Players were vocal about clunky controls, overwhelming systems, and a slow opening act that took hours to find its footing. Pearl Abyss’s share price dropped nearly 30 percent in the days following launch.
That situation has now meaningfully changed. Following a launch that was met with divisive opinions from both players and critics, Crimson Desert has now managed to claw its way up to a mostly positive review rating on Steam.
What Patch 1.00.03 Actually Fixed
Patch 1.00.03, which is available to download now on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC, includes tons of bug fixes and adjustments to keyboard and mouse controls. Crimson Desert’s controls have been one of the biggest complaints to come from players following the game’s launch.
The specific changes in the patch include improvements to keyboard and mouse control responsiveness, which was the single most complained-about element in launch-week reviews. Controller inputs for jumping and combat actions were also made more responsive. A storage box has been added at Howling Hill Camp, accessible from Chapter 3, addressing the widely criticised inventory management system. Boss difficulty has been tuned down across the board, reducing the frustration barrier that caused many early players to quit before the game’s systems clicked.
Frame rates are much more stable now, especially during crowded combat scenes. The development team also removed several game-breaking glitches that previously forced players to restart their missions.
Pearl Abyss confirmed this is not the end of the improvements: “We will continue to improve both controller and keyboard/mouse controls moving forward.”
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What the Numbers Look Like Now
Crimson Desert’s Steam reviews have crossed from Mixed to Mostly Positive, and the game has hit a new record for its concurrent player count on Steam at close to a quarter million concurrent players. At release, Crimson Desert’s Steam reviews were Mixed, today they are Mostly Positive with 76 percent of 19,212 reviews being positive.
Pearl Abyss’ stock price saw a slight increase of 0.6 percent on March 23, coinciding with the positive reception to the patches. The stock had previously dropped nearly 30 percent following the mixed launch, so the rebound, while modest, reflects genuine player sentiment improvement.
There is an additional controversy worth noting. Pearl Abyss acknowledged controversy regarding the use of AI-generated images in the game’s final release. The developer admitted that these assets should have been disclosed and has since launched a comprehensive audit to identify and replace them through future patches.
Is Crimson Desert Worth Buying Now?
The consensus forming in updated reviews is consistent: the game takes roughly 10 hours before its systems fully open up, and players who pushed through the slow early chapters are largely glad they did. The combat, the world design, and the sheer ambition of what Pearl Abyss built are repeatedly praised by players who stayed long enough to see it.
The game’s development team has promised to listen to feedback and make the appropriate adjustments, with a new update dropping today addressing two of the biggest concerns: Crimson Desert’s controls and its boss difficulty.
If you bounced off Crimson Desert in its first week because of control issues or difficulty spikes, now is a reasonable time to try again. If you have been on the fence entirely, the patch has reduced the main early-game frustrations significantly, though the slow opening act remains.
Crimson Desert is available on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. It is not on Xbox Game Pass.
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