- Pearl Abyss has confirmed that Crimson Desert won’t feature microtransactions
- The RPG won’t have a cosmetic cash shop because it “is a premium experience”
- Will Powers, director of marketing at Pearl Abyss America, says it won’t offer the “monetization model” of free-to-play games
Crimson Desert developer Pearl Abyss has confirmed that the upcoming open-world role-playing game (RPG) won’t feature microtransactions or a cosmetic cash shop.
The $69.99 game has been in development for quite some time and is finally due to launch next month. From the trailers and gameplay reels we’ve seen, it looks to be quite the ambitious game, but the South Korean studio has promised that it won’t offer any pay-to-win add-ons or in-game microtransactions.
“I can say that definitively: there is not a cosmetic cash shop,” confirmed Will Powers, director of marketing at Pearl Abyss America, in an interview with Dropped Frames.
“This is made to be a premium experience that you buy and you enjoy the world, and not something for microtransactions.
“It’s a monetization model. If you do free-to-play then you need to make up the revenue in a different way. This is a premium experience. That is the transaction. Full stop.”
Crimson Desert will not have a microtransaction shop, confirms Pearl Abyss.”This is made to be a premium experience that you buy and you enjoy the world and not something for microtransactions.”(via @DroppedFrames) pic.twitter.com/HAlWngYYpCFebruary 15, 2026
This suggests the game won’t even offer optional, paid add-ons for costumes for characters, mounts, or in-game currency that could be used for purchasing resources.
Pearl Abyss is best known for its popular massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) Black Desert Online, a game that is filled with microtransactions, so it’s good to hear Crimson Desert won’t fall into the same trap as some action-adventure games have in recent years.
Games like Dragon’s Dogma 2, another fantasy RPG with online features and a single-player narrative campaign, also offered microtransactions and received backlash from players. There’s also Ubisoft, which is known for including them in its Assassin’s Creed games.
Crimson Desert launches on March 19 for PS5, Xbox Series X and Series S, and PC. The is set in a fantasy world of Pywel and follows a lone mercenary, Kliff, who must “restore what has been lost”. It offers the player choices that will influence the story, challenging enemy encounters, towns and cities to explore, an array of weapons, secrets to discover, and more.
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