Developer Pearl Abyss turned down a potential PlayStation exclusivity deal for its upcoming open-world, single-player, action adventure game, Crimson Desert, that would have ended up delaying the release of the Xbox version.
During an Investor Relations briefing at the Kiwoom Securities Corporate Day event (via), developer Pearl Abyss revealed that Sony Interactive Entertainment offered the studio an agreement to publish Crimson Desert on PlayStation that would have prohibited the game’s release on Xbox for a certain period of time. However, the company executives decided to self-publish the game because they felt it would be a more profitable approach.
The development team also shared some details regarding Crimson Desert and its development. It was mentioned that adding various features to the open world led to a lot of delays. The game runs on Pearl Abyss’ proprietary engine, which benefited the studio in several ways.
Interactivity with NPCs and the natural environment was a big focus for the development team. Game elements in Crimson Desert were designed to enable diverse interactions, such as using AI to have NPCs make situational judgements to drive interactions in a variety of different ways. For example, the enemy AI can decide to flee from a battle based on the player level or number of allies. There is also a reputation system in Crimson Desert that brings certain changes depending on the player’s actions. The game features elements that make the player either a hero or a villain, depending on their actions.
The game was also compared to the Assassin’s Creed and The Legend of Zelda series for their sense of spatial freedom. The game that was heavily referenced during the initial production for Crimson Desert was The Witcher 3, and some parts of the story were also referenced. Furthermore, it was mentioned that Sony Interactive Entertainment compared the game’s atmosphere and story to that of Ghost of Tsushima.
It was also stated that the development team has worked hard to exhibit detailed changes to characters and their behavior based on changes in temperature and time of day. This includes the character’s actions slowing down when the temperature drops or during night time. It was mentioned that there are limitations in implementing such details when using commercial engines such as Unreal Engine 5.
