It’s only been a few short days since the release of Crimson Desert, which was one of the most anticipated video games of 2026. However, the initial reception was not overwhelmingly positive, with both critics and fans taking issue with the game’s convoluted controls, emphasis on quantity over quality, and poor inventory system. Developer and publisher Pearl Abyss has been listening, and a new update is available now that changes the game for the better.
Announced via the official Crimson Desert X account, a new update has rolled out that has added storage to the game, so players won’t have to rely on selling important gear or items to a singular vendor just to remember where they put something. Additionally, the update has drastically improved keyboard and mouse controls for PC players.
Maybe even more impressive, the update addresses the general “feel” of the game to improve the responsiveness of the controls. The update also fixes numerous graphical issues and bugs.
The full patch notes can be read on Pearl Abyss’s official website.
In my Crimson Desert review, I harshly criticized the game’s controls, story, characters, and shallow mechanics, but called it one of the most gorgeous games I had ever played. While there are still some issues (like the limited inventory system), Crimson Desert is well on its way to reaching its full potential.
Additionally, fans seem to be warming up to the game, too, as the game has now reached a “mostly positive” reception on Steam post-update. According to SteamDB, there are currently more than 180,000 players playing Crimson Desert just on Steam at the time of this writing.
Less than 24 hours after launch, Pearl Abyss announced Crimson Desert had already sold two million units, making it one of the fastest-selling games of 2026.
While the game barely sits in the top 50 games of 2026 on Metacritic, it seems the latest update is gradually making opinions of the game more positive.
Crimson Desert is available now for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
This story was originally published by Men’s Journal on Mar 23, 2026, where it first appeared in the Entertainment section. Add Men’s Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
