Pearl Abyss was approached by Sony with the hopes of locking Crimson Desert as a timed PlayStation exclusive release, according to a translation of the developer’s investor relations.
Crimson Desert would have been a PlayStation exclusive for one year had Pearl Abyss decided to go through with Sony’s offer, “with no release on Xbox.” In addition, Sony would have acquired distribution rights to the PC version of the game.
Pearl Abyss described Sony’s offer as “appealing” due to the PlayStation manufacturer’s marketing prowess, but turned it down to self-publish Crimson Desert instead. The report also reveals that Shift Up agreed to an exclusive initiative with Soy for Stellar Blade, but Pearl Abyss noted that Shift Up did not have a publishing team in place at the time.
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In a typical contract, 30 percent of revenue goes to platform fees, and the remaining 70 percent is split between the developer and publisher. Since we already have the capability to self-publish globally and have overseas branches, we concluded that using our own resources would be more advantageous.
Crimson Desert is currently in development for PS5, PC, and Xbox Series X/S, and was originally pitched as a prequel to Black Desert Online. The game takes place in a medieval fantasy world known as Pywel, where players follow a hardened mercenary who is plagued by burdens of leadership and past memories. The game is set for release in the second quarter of 2025.
[Source – Eurogamer]