Is Crimson Desert multiplayer? Your options explained

Since launch, Crimson Desert has become one of the biggest games of 2026, but many players are hoping to see it go multiplayer.

It's hardly a surprise – developer Pearl Abyss is the same studio behind hit MMORPG Black Desert Online, meaning Crimson Desert shares plenty of traits with such multiplayer titles.

So, if you're wondering whether or not Crimson Desert is multiplayer, read on!

Is Crimson Desert multiplayer?

No, Crimson Desert is not multiplayer. It is a single player game only.

This may come as a bit of a surprise considering the game originally began life as a prequel to MMORPG Black Desert Online. It was originally in development as an MMO but it drifted into becoming a single player action RPG.

Speaking in an interview with playday.one, marketing and PR director Will Powers from Pearl Abyss confirmed that “Crimson Desert was originally announced as not only a prequel to Black Desert, but also an MMO".

But now it is “a completely different genre".

He added that: “Through its development, it’s really like you hit a crossroads in development where do you want to maintain what the original trajectory of the game was, or do you want to let it become its own thing and really blossom? Obviously, they chose the latter of those two and let it blossom into its own thing, its own brand new IP.”

Will there be multiplayer in Crimson Desert?

While there is no multiplayer in Crimson Desert at launch and the game was designed to be a single player only experience, it does appear that a multiplayer mode could come to the game in the future.

At Pearl Abyss's 2025 earnings conference, as reported by Korean outlet Global Economic, CEO Heo Jin-young stated, "We are planning to release additional content, such as Crimson Desert DLC or multiplayer content, depending on market demand."

Considering the strong sales numbers thus far, it certainly seems as if the appetite for more Crimson Desert is there, and we would be surprised if a multiplayer mode is not on Pearl Abyss's radar.

That being said, what form this multiplayer mode would take, and how long it would take to develop remains to be seen.

If the development team doesn’t add in any multiplayer modes to the game, perhaps plucky modders will on PC.

It always surprises us what modding communities are able to put out and add to games, so maybe, perhaps, we could see an unofficial Crimson Desert multiplayer mod on the PC version of the game at some point in the future.

Of course, if anything changes in terms of multiplayer modes in Crimson Desert, we’ll update this page.

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