Crimson Desert’s world is “at least twice as big” as Skyrim, states developer

Crimson Desert is flying a little under the radar for some, with many not realizing how big a game Pearl Abyss is actually creating here.

Yes, you’ve probably seen the majestic dragons and skydiving, a la Breath of the Wild, but we now know that you’ll be able to get up to all sorts in a world that is “at least twice as big” as Skyrim.

Crimson Desert is absolutely massive

Thanks to the recent New Games Plus showcase, which allowed a plethora of developers, both small and large, to reveal more about their upcoming titles, we were treated to a bit of a deep dive into what to expect from Crimson Desert.

This came in the form of an almost hour-long interview with Pearl Abyss’ PR Director Will Powers, who gave us a bunch of new information for the upcoming adventure in Pywel.

As we’ve previously touched on, he suggested that Crimson Desert’s world was “at least twice as big” as Skyrim’s, as well as being “larger” than the more recent Red Dead Redemption 2. This is absolutely crazy to think about when you put into perspective that it takes over two and a half hours to walk across Skyrim’s map.

As for how much there is to do in the open world of Crimson Desert remains to be seen, but again, Powers positively noted that Pearl Abyss has really focused on making sure it is “incredibly interactive,” so you’re not just wandering around looking at pretty vistas.

From what we know so far, you’ll be able to talk with a plethora of NPCs, get crafting going, own your own house, have constant codex updates for interacting with the world, and much more. The combat looks solid too, so you’ll not only likely love exploring, but those boss battles will really hit the spot for you sword fighters out there.

At the time of writing, there’s just a little over two months to wait for the Crimson Desert release date. These comments and additional peek at gameplay are only building the hype for what could be the biggest ‘sleeper’ hit of 2026.