In an interview with Gaming Interviews, Pearl Abyss’ Will Powers explained that quantifying the game’s scale doesn’t fully capture its immensity. Though,he stated the world is at least twice the size of Skyrim’s playable area and larger than the map in Red Dead Redemption 2.
“I don’t think numbers really do it justice,because what is that in terms of scope and scale?” Powers said. “But what we can say is that the world is at least two times the size of the open world, the playable area, of Skyrim. Its bigger than the map of Red Dead Redemption 2.”
Powers emphasized that size isn’t the sole indicator of quality. A world filled with engaging activities is paramount.
“The continent of Pywel is absolutely gigantic, but size doesn’t matter if ther’s nothing to do,” he said.”Open-world games are about doing things,having activities,having distractions. So we wanted to create a world that isn’t just gigantic, but also incredibly interactive.”
Players will be able to traverse Crimson Desert’s expansive landscape by dragon, allowing for quick travel despite the world’s size. While the game won’t feature traditional RPG decision-making with consequential outcomes, the sheer volume of content will allow players to create their own role-playing experiences through personal interpretation.
“You choose the type of character you want to play in terms of your progression within the systems in the game,” Powers explained. “And then, through head canon, you have a vrey different experience than othre players because of the scope and scale of the game. You get distracted by something, you go down a certain questline, you have an experience that’s radically different than someone else’s, even though you’re playing the same game and the same canonical storyline that you’re both going through.”
The portion of Crimson Desert shown during media previews represents only “a small corner of the map,” Powers added. Crimson Desert is scheduled for release on March 19, 2026.
