The newly released Crimson Desert action-adventure game by Pearl Abyss seems to be at the centre of attention in the gaming community. This past weekend, Pearl Abyss put out a statement after it was discovered that clear examples of genAI art were being used in the game.
We would like to address questions regarding the use of AI in Crimson Desert.
During development, some 2D visual props were created as part of early-stage iteration using experimental AI generative tools. These assets helped us rapidly explore tone and atmosphere in the earlier…
— Crimson Desert (@CrimsonDesert_) March 22, 2026
Pearl Abyss would later follow that statement with, “We also acknowledge that we should have clearly disclosed our use of AI. While these tools were primarily used during early production, with the expectation that these assets would be replaced prior to release, we recognize that this does not excuse the lack of transparency.” There are still remaining accusations against Pearl Abyss for using AI to localize the game for Germany and Spain.
According to their statement, AI assets were included in pre-development, and they are now vowing to do an audit and erase everything that was made by AI in a future patch.
On the topic of patches, Crimson Desert received its first major patch update. The patch is currently available on PC and will be available on PlayStation and Xbox at 10:15 p.m. & 4:15 a.m. ET (7:15 p.m. PT, 1:15 a.m. PT), respectively. You can read the patch notes here.
The recent patch focused on gamepad and keyboard/mouse controls, increased health restored from food items, and new item storage in the Howling Hill camp. Pearl Abyss released another statement saying they are listening closely to feedback from the community. The statement reads, “We are currently reviewing various gameplay elements based on your feedback and will roll out further improvements and fixes in subsequent updates.”
Source: Crimson Desert, (2)
