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11 Overview
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3-In March 2026, Pearl Abyss CEO Heo Jin-young confirmed that the studio has begun research and development into a potential Nintendo Switch 2 port of Crimson Desert. this is a feasibility study, not a formal product announcement. No release date, pricing, or concrete development timeline has been shared. The investigation is still in its earliest stages, and Pearl Abyss has not committed to shipping a Switch 2 version of the game.
3+Pearl Abyss is bringing Crimson Desert to Nintendo Switch 2. The studio first disclosed internal research on the port in March 2026, and on August 12, 2026 it committed to a release window of the first half of 2027 during its second-quarter earnings briefing. Pearl Abyss says the Switch 2 build has reached a playable baseline and is in technical review for performance optimization and quality standards. Pricing and an exact release date have not been announced.
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5-The news comes at a time when Crimson Desert has reached nearly five million copies sold across its existing platforms. That commercial success is widely seen as a driving factor behind the studio's interest in exploring additional hardware.
5+The port firmed up as Crimson Desert passed six million copies sold across its existing platforms. That commercial success is widely seen as a driving factor behind the studio's interest in additional hardware. See Sales and Commercial Performance for the full sales timeline.
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7+Confirmed Release Window
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9+The Switch 2 version is targeting the first half of 2027. Pearl Abyss described the build as having reached a playable baseline, with ongoing technical review covering performance optimization and platform quality standards. The studio has said the goal is to preserve the game's presentation, action, and open-world structure rather than ship a cut-down conversion, which is a notable framing given the compromises the CEO flagged when the project was first disclosed.
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11+DetailStatus (August 2026)Release windowFirst half of 2027Build statusPlayable baseline reached; in technical reviewStated goalPreserve graphics, action, and open-world experiencePrice and exact dateNot announcedPreordersNot open
712 Developer Statements
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914 During a March 2026 interview, CEO Heo Jin-young spoke candidly about the challenges involved. He stated that he is "not fully confident" the game can be ported to the handheld, citing hardware limitations as the primary concern. He specifically noted that "there are parts we have to give up" if a Switch 2 version were to move forward.
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1116 These comments signal that the studio is weighing the tradeoffs seriously rather than pursuing a port at any cost. The fact that the CEO framed the effort as R&D, and not as a product in active development, suggests Pearl Abyss wants to determine whether a Switch 2 version can meet its quality standards before making any promises to players.
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1318 Technical Considerations
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1520 Crimson Desert is built on the BlackSpace Engine, a proprietary engine developed in-house by Pearl Abyss. The engine powers several demanding graphical features that would present significant challenges on portable hardware.
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1722 Key technical features that would need scaling or reworking for a Switch 2 port include:
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1924 Full stochastic path tracing - The BlackSpace Engine uses real-time path tracing for lighting and reflections, a technique that demands substantial GPU compute power.Native 4K rendering - The game renders at native 4K resolution on supported platforms. A Switch 2 version would almost certainly run at a lower resolution, likely with dynamic resolution scaling.Advanced water simulation - Crimson Desert features physically simulated ocean and river systems that contribute to its visual identity but are computationally expensive.Storage requirements - The PC version currently requires 135GB of SSD storage. Significant asset compression or selective content streaming would be necessary to fit within the Switch 2's storage constraints.
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2126 For a full breakdown of current hardware requirements, see the System Requirements article.
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2328 Current Platforms
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2530 Crimson Desert is currently available on the following platforms:
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2732 PC - Available on Steam, Epic Games Store, and the Microsoft Store.PlayStation 5Xbox Series X|SmacOS
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29-No other portable or mobile versions have been announced beyond the Switch 2 feasibility study. For information on updates across all platforms, see Patch Notes.
34+No portable or mobile versions have been announced beyond the Nintendo Switch 2 release planned for the first half of 2027. For information on updates across all platforms, see Patch Notes.
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3136 Community Response
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3338 The announcement of R&D for a Switch 2 version has generated a mixed but largely curious reaction across the Crimson Desert community. Many players are excited at the prospect of playing on a portable device, while others have expressed skepticism about whether the game's visual fidelity and world scale can translate to handheld hardware without major compromises.
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3540 A common sentiment in community discussions is cautious optimism. Fans have pointed to the CEO's honest tone as a positive sign, noting that Pearl Abyss appears to be approaching the port with realistic expectations rather than rushing a subpar version to market. Others have drawn comparisons to other graphically intensive titles that have received scaled-down portable releases with varying degrees of success.
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37-Until Pearl Abyss provides a definitive update on whether the port will proceed beyond the R&D phase, the community consensus remains one of wait-and-see.
42+The March 2026 disclosure left the port an open question, and the community reaction below dates from that period. Pearl Abyss answered it on August 12, 2026 with a first-half-2027 target and a playable internal build, so the open question now is how the presentation holds up on the hardware rather than whether the port ships at all.