Revision 2

Overview

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. It is important to note that 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.

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.

Developer Statements

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.

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.

Technical Considerations

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.

Key technical features that would need scaling or reworking for a Switch 2 port include:

• 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.

For a full breakdown of current hardware requirements, see the System Requirements article.

Current Platforms

Crimson Desert is currently available on the following platforms:

• PC - Available on Steam, Epic Games Store, and the Microsoft Store.

• PlayStation 5

• Xbox Series X|S

• macOS

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.

Community Response

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.

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.

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.