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Known Bugs and Issues
March 24, 2026 at 03:56 AM
March 24 update: Update Intel Arc GPU status (PA now working on support)
Crimson Desert launched on March 19, 2026 across PC (Steam, Xbox app), PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. Like many large open-world RPGs, the launch came with a set of technical problems and gameplay bugs. Pearl Abyss acknowledged many of these issues on its official website and released a Day One Patch (version 1.00.02) alongside the launch to address some of the most pressing concerns. This page tracks every confirmed bug, glitch, and technical issue along with known workarounds and official fixes.
All issues listed below have been confirmed by either Pearl Abyss directly or by multiple independent player reports. Entries are removed from this page once a patch resolves them.
Pearl Abyss maintains a known issues list on the official Crimson Desert website. The following bugs are acknowledged by the developer as of March 22, 2026.
Issue | Details | Status |
|---|---|---|
Fruit theft lockup | Attempting to steal fruit located at the rear of market stalls causes the character to lock up and stop responding to player inputs entirely. | Acknowledged |
Tree clipping and stuck character | Taking damage while grabbing or climbing a tree can clip the character through the trunk, and in some cases the character gets permanently stuck on the tree. | Acknowledged |
Quest auto-tracking failure | Some quests fail to auto-track the next objective after completing a step, leaving players unsure of where to go. Opening the quest log and manually selecting the objective works as a temporary fix. | Acknowledged |
Issue | Details | Status |
|---|---|---|
Deferred Advance / Blackstar health bug | Completing or quitting out of the Ultimate Weapon fight during the Deferred Advance quest while Blackstar's Health is active causes Blackstar's Health to not respawn fully on retry. | Acknowledged |
Gregor revival bug | During the Gregor, the Halberd of Carnage boss fight, players cannot revive or continue if surrounding destructible objects are destroyed simultaneously with the player character's death. | Acknowledged |
Issue | Details | Status |
|---|---|---|
FSR 4 rain artifacts | Enabling AMD FSR 4 upscaling causes raindrops to disappear or introduces screen distortion and blurring in rainy areas. | Acknowledged |
Abyss visible from overworld | Under specific circumstances, the Abyss can be seen from the overworld, which also triggers minor framerate dips. | Acknowledged |
Settings not saving | In some cases, graphics and gameplay settings do not save properly after loading them, reverting to previous values on restart. | Acknowledged |
Issue | Platform | Details | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
Fishing reel-in broken | Xbox | The fishing reel-in function does not work when "Invert Right Stick Y-Axis" is enabled in device settings. | Acknowledged |
Game fails to launch | Xbox PC / ROG Ally | The game cannot launch properly on the Xbox PC app or on ROG Ally handheld devices. A workaround involves booting the game while offline, letting save data sync, and then reconnecting. | Under investigation |
Map menu crashes (FIXED) | PS5 / PS5 Pro | Opening the map menu sometimes caused a hard crash. This was fixed in Patch 1.00.03 (March 23, 2026). Turning off 3D map nodes was the pre-patch workaround. | Fixed in Patch 1.00.03 |
Pre-order items missing | Steam | Some Steam pre-order purchasers cannot claim bonus and deluxe pack items. | Under investigation |
The following issues from the launch period were resolved in Patch 1.00.03:
Issue | Platform | Resolution |
|---|---|---|
PS5 Map menu crash | PS5 / PS5 Pro | The crash when opening the Map menu has been fully resolved. Players no longer need to disable 3D map nodes as a workaround. |
DualSense vibration not working | PC (Windows) | DualSense controller vibration (haptic feedback) now works correctly on Windows when connected via USB or Bluetooth. |
Graphics card recognition failures | PC | Certain GPUs that were not detected at startup are now recognized properly. |
Mac graphics defaults and crash | Mac | Default graphics settings on Mac have been corrected, and a launch crash on macOS has been fixed. |
For the complete list of changes in this patch, see the Patch Notes page.
At launch on March 19, 2026, Crimson Desert did not support Intel Arc graphics cards at all. Players who attempted to run the game on any Intel Arc GPU received a "The graphics device is currently not supported" error and the game refused to start. This affected the entire Intel Arc discrete GPU lineup (including the Arc A770, A750, A580, and B-series Battlemage cards) as well as the integrated Arc graphics found in Intel Meteor Lake and Lunar Lake mobile processors. The incompatibility was not disclosed on the Steam store page prior to launch.
Initial response (March 19-21): Pearl Abyss updated their FAQ to confirm that Intel Arc GPUs were not supported. The developer's official guidance to affected buyers was to "refer to the refund policy of the platform where the game was purchased." Intel issued a public statement through Tom's Hardware, revealing that it had reached out to Pearl Abyss "many times" over several years and provided early hardware, drivers, and engineering resources across multiple GPU generations, including Alchemist, Battlemage, Meteor Lake, and Lunar Lake. Intel described itself as "hugely disappointed" and said it "remain[ed] ready to assist."
Reversal (March 23-24): Following significant backlash from the gaming community and press coverage from WCCFTech, Tom's Hardware, PC Gamer, Sportskeeda, and VideoCardz, Pearl Abyss reversed course. The studio issued a new statement: "We are currently working on compatibility and optimization support so that Crimson Desert can also be enjoyed on Intel Arc GPU systems." Pearl Abyss apologized for the "confusion" that their earlier FAQ wording had caused. As of March 24, 2026, the game can now launch on Intel Arc hardware, but users should expect performance drops and stability issues until full optimization is complete. Intel confirmed they are "ready to assist" Pearl Abyss with the ongoing work.
Current status: The game is launchable on Intel Arc GPUs but is not yet fully optimized. Players may experience lower frame rates, visual artifacts, and occasional crashes compared to AMD or Nvidia hardware. Pearl Abyss has not provided a specific timeline for when full Intel Arc optimization will be completed. Check the System Requirements page for the latest supported hardware list.
Nvidia DLSS, specifically DLAA (Deep Learning Anti-Aliasing) and DLSS 4.0 or later, is a primary source of black-screen problems on PC. DLAA can cause a black flickering bar at the top of the screen that progressively swallows the entire image. The workaround is to open the Nvidia App, locate the profile for Crimson Desert, and reset both the DLSS preset and the Super Resolution setting to "Use application settings." Alternatively, disabling DLAA entirely and switching to DLSS Quality mode avoids the issue. See the Best PC Settings Guide for recommended configurations.
Enabling frame generation can cause hard crashes when alt-tabbing out of the window or switching display modes. To fix this, navigate to the configuration file at C:\Users\YOUR_NAME\AppData\Local\Pearl Abyss\CD\save, open "user_engine_option_save" in a text editor, change "_numFramesToGenerate = 2" to "_numFramesToGenerate = 0", save the file, and then launch the game in Borderless Windowed mode.
The BlackSpace Engine used by Crimson Desert is highly sensitive to third-party software that injects into the rendering pipeline. MSI Afterburner, RivaTuner Statistics Server (RTSS), and similar monitoring or overlay tools must be closed before launching the game. Running these tools can cause hard system shutdowns, freezes, or repeated crashes to desktop. Discord overlay, GeForce Experience overlay, and other injected overlays have also been reported to cause instability.
Outdated GPU drivers are one of the most common causes of crashes and visual artifacts. Nvidia users should update to driver version 595.79 or newer, using the "Clean Install" option rather than "Express" to ensure corrupted driver files are fully replaced. AMD users should similarly ensure they are running the latest Adrenalin driver release.
Players running Crimson Desert on Linux through Proton may experience crashes during the intro video, especially on AMD GPUs like the RX 7900 XTX. Switching to GE-Proton 10-33 resolves the intro crash. Raytracing should also be disabled immediately on AMD Linux setups, as the current AMD Linux drivers crash when raytracing is engaged.
A widely reported issue causes Crimson Desert to render at a significantly reduced internal resolution on PS5 and PS5 Pro when 120 Hz Output is enabled in the console's system settings. This results in extremely blurry, soft-looking visuals even in Balanced or Quality display modes. Pearl Abyss Marketing Director Will Powers confirmed the issue and advised players to disable 120 Hz output as a temporary workaround.
Fix: Go to the PS5 home screen, open Settings, then Screen and Video, then Video Output, and set "Enable 120 Hz Output" to Off. Restart Crimson Desert afterward. The game should now render at its intended resolution.
Digital Foundry's analysis found that the 60 fps Performance Mode on the base PS5 (non-Pro) is not recommended. Without upscaling support on the standard PS5, the frame rate in Performance Mode fluctuates between the high 30s and 60 fps, delivering an inconsistent experience. Balanced mode or Quality mode provide a more stable and visually clear result. Refer to the Performance and Graphics Settings page for display mode comparisons.
A significant number of players across all platforms reported that the controls feel sluggish, unresponsive, or overly heavy, particularly during combat. Pearl Abyss acknowledged this feedback and announced they are "currently preparing a patch to address" the control complaints. No release date for this patch has been confirmed yet.
If a gamepad is not detected on PC, try the following steps in order:
Restart Steam completely (not just the game).
Unplug any secondary input devices such as racing wheels, flight sticks (HOTAS), or specialized mice. Crimson Desert defaults to the first USB game controller it detects, and a throttle or secondary device may register as a stuck joystick.
Try a wired USB connection instead of Bluetooth or a wireless dongle.
Disable Steam Input: right-click Crimson Desert in your Steam library, select Properties, go to the Controller tab, and set "Override for Crimson Desert" to "Disable Steam Input." The BlackSpace Engine has native support for Xbox and PlayStation controllers, and Steam Input's wrapper can cause double-input glitches or dead zones.
Update controller drivers through Device Manager under Human Interface Devices or Xbox Peripherals.
When a DualSense or DualSense Edge controller is connected via Bluetooth on PC, Crimson Desert displays Xbox "ABXY" button prompts instead of PlayStation icons. There are two workarounds:
Disable Steam Input (preferred): Open your Steam library, right-click the game, go to Properties, then Controller, and set it to "Disable Steam Input." This lets the engine natively detect the PlayStation gamepad and display the correct Triangle, Circle, Cross, and Square prompts.
USB handoff method: Connect the DualSense via USB cable first, confirm PlayStation icons appear at the main menu, then unplug the cable while the game is still running and let the controller reconnect over Bluetooth.
Corrupted or missing game files are a common cause of crashes, menu freezes, and failed launches. On Steam, right-click Crimson Desert in your library, select Properties, navigate to the Installed Files tab, and click "Verify integrity of game files." Steam will re-download any files that are damaged or missing.
Open Steam, go to Settings, then Downloads, and click "Clear Download Cache." This forces Steam to re-verify your local files and can resolve launch failures caused by stale cache data.
Some antivirus programs (including Windows Defender) may flag the game executable or the anti-cheat module and prevent the game from launching. Add the Crimson Desert installation folder to your antivirus exclusion list.
For players who purchased Crimson Desert through the Xbox PC app and cannot get the game to launch, the most reliable workaround is to disconnect from the internet, restart the computer, immediately launch the game while still offline, allow save data to sync, and then reconnect to the internet. Connecting to the internet before launching the game causes the launch to fail. Also verify that the same Microsoft account is signed into both Windows and the Microsoft Store, and that the PC is registered as a device on the account.
Pearl Abyss encourages players to report new bugs through the official channels:
Official website: Navigate to the Crimson Desert official site (crimsondesert.pearlabyss.com), go to News, then Notices, and select the "Report an Issue" post for the bug report template.
Steam Community: Post in the Crimson Desert Steam Community forums under the Bug Reports section with your system specs, a description of the issue, and steps to reproduce it.
Console support: PlayStation and Xbox players can contact Pearl Abyss through the official website or through their respective platform's support channels.
