Crimson Desert Worth It? $69.99, 86% Positive and a DLC

We have not played it. This is a read of Steam's store page, Pearl Abyss announcements, one launch review and Steam reviews from November 7, each linked and dated, all read on November 8, 2026.

Screenshot: Crimson Desert, Steam store page (Pearl Abyss)

What it costs, and where the cheaper key is

The Eneba Global key costs about 20% less than Steam, and Eneba lists it as activating on Steam. The Deluxe Edition saves $2.99 over buying the base game and the pack separately, and Steam's own description of the pack is "more armor, horse tack, and cosmetics for Kliff!" and its list is the Kairos plate set, the Balgran Shield and the Exclaire horse tack. We did not check whether those pieces have stats, so treat it as optional.

Steam's next storewide sale is the Winter Sale, December 17 to January 4, per Valve's partner calendar. We have not tracked whether Crimson Desert has been discounted before, so a cut is a hope rather than a plan.

There is no PC trial. Pearl Abyss's October 29 notice offers a five-hour trial of the Enhanced base game to "PlayStation Plus Premium and Deluxe subscribers on PlayStation, and to all players on Xbox," available until October 29, 2027 on PlayStation and January 7, 2027 on Xbox. It is one use per account, progress carries over if you buy, and it excludes the DLC. On PC, Valve's refund page covers a game bought on Steam if the request comes within 14 days and the game was "played for less than two hours." It adds that "Valve cannot provide refunds for purchases made outside of Steam (for example, CD keys ... purchased from third parties)," so an Eneba key has no refund route through Valve.

BESTPRICE: Want Crimson Desert? Eneba sells a Steam key: Buy on Eneba →

What Steam players say, and when

Source: Steam review histogram, weekly rollups summed by month, read November 8, 2026. Partial November week excluded.

The score rose from 78% in March to 84% in April and has stayed between 74% and 84% since. English reviewers are kinder than the world overall: the histogram's all-language total, about 122,000 reviews, sits six points below the English score. The 30-day figure covers 2,411 reviews.

Interest has faded from the launch peak. SteamCharts lists 275,859 concurrent players at the all-time peak, and Steam's own counter showed 26,476 in game on November 8. October averaged 12,675 players, and the 30-day average of 15,666 includes the DLC week.

What the Enhanced update and the DLC add

Steam now calls the base game Crimson Desert Enhanced. Pearl Abyss describes it as "an enhanced Crimson Desert, featuring new cutscenes and story moments, plus expanded voice-over and language support," and says it has been "refined since launch with a wealth of updates, including new content, mounts, pets, customization options, various quality-of-life improvements, and more." Our special mounts guide covers the mount side of that.

Screenshot: Crimson Desert, Steam store page (Pearl Abyss)

The DLC arrived on October 29 after the delay we covered earlier. Pearl Abyss's features overview says it "introduces three new storylines, one each for Kliff, Oongka, and Damiane," and that "after completing the main story, these stories can be started through the Journal menu." An ocean storyline opens after the main-story quest "Howling Hill," and the same post lists housing, three claimable castles, shops to manage and a boss gauntlet called Garden of Trials, which unlocks after the main questline.

That makes the $24.99 DLC a second-purchase decision. Do not buy it first: the three storylines and Garden of Trials all start after the main story.

The counter-case: chores, dialogue and frame rate

A Steam reviewer with 12.9 hours, writing on November 7, gave a thumbs down. They call the dialogue "absolutely terrible" and say you "can't even skip most of it," and describe the open world as "stupid chores: find a sheep, catch a fish, collect a butterfly, clean up some random mess." They also say "the graphics are nice."

Screenshot: Crimson Desert, Steam store page (Pearl Abyss)

A recommending reviewer with 44.2 hours, also on November 7, calls it "my personal Game of the Year" and loves a combat style like "Tekken or Mortal Kombat." The same review says "the game itself runs like garbage though," tells readers they need a GPU with frame generation and Ray Reconstruction, and adds "I would have gotten a refund because of how terrible the lighting alone can be." It is one player's report, but Pearl Abyss has been patching frame rate too. Patch 2.04.08 on November 6 lists "Improved framerate drops in certain areas" and promises more work, and PlayGround.ru's headline that day was that the patch tackled FPS drops. Steam's feed shows nine patch notes between October 29 and November 6.

On pace, a reviewer with 59.2 hours, on November 7, wrote "It gets good after the first 50 hours or so." Another with 154.4 hours says "this is a marathon." Digital Spy's launch review gave four stars after about 150 hours and wrote that "this game won't be for everyone" because of "frustration and how long it is," and that the world overshadows "confusing elements, generic story, and boring characters." On PC the reviewer saw "zero stuttering" at launch.

GODEEPER: If you buy, start with the beginner tips guide and pick your mode with our difficulty settings guide.

PC details: specs, Deck and Mac

Source: Steam store page, checked November 8, 2026.

The 180 GB install is the real cost beyond the price tag, so clear space first. Valve's Steam Deck report rates the game Unsupported, citing graphics performance. Steam lists a Mac version, Pearl Abyss's patch notes carry Mac fixes, and there is no Linux build.

If you like this style of purchase decision, our worth-it checks on No Man's Sky, 007 First Light and Sons of the Forest cover other big games. For the fighting itself, read our combat guide, and for gear see the refinement guide.

Screenshot: Crimson Desert, Steam store page (Pearl Abyss)

Our call: who should buy

Buy it at $56.03 (or $69.99 on Steam) if you want a slow, enormous open world with fast fighting and have a recent GPU. The reason is the shape of the praise: recent reviews talk about world, combat and "a marathon" of things to do, and the negatives are about chores, dialogue and frame rate rather than broken systems.

Skip it, or wait for a sale, if an open world with errands bores you after 12 hours or your PC sits near the minimum. If you are unsure, buy on Steam, where the 14-day, two-hour refund applies, try the trial if you own an Xbox or a PlayStation Plus Premium or Deluxe plan, or watch for a drop at the December 17 Winter Sale. Leave the Deluxe Pack and the DLC until you have finished the story.

Short version: take the key only if you are sure, since it cannot be refunded through Valve, and otherwise buy on Steam and judge the frame rate early.

What we don't know

We did not play Crimson Desert, test the Steam Deck or measure frame rate. Eneba's listing says only "Crimson Desert Steam Key (PC) GLOBAL" and does not mention the Enhanced edition, so we cannot promise what a key shows after you redeem it. We also did not test the Xbox or PlayStation trial, and we do not know the price after any future discount.

References

1. Crimson Desert Enhanced on Steam, Valve
2. Charting the Unknown DLC Features Overview, Pearl Abyss
3. Charting the Unknown Is Now Available, Pearl Abyss
4. Patch Notes Version 2.04.08, Pearl Abyss
5. Crimson Desert Deluxe Pack on Steam, Valve
6. Steam Refunds, Valve
7. Steamworks upcoming events, Valve
8. Crimson Desert on SteamCharts, SteamCharts
9. Crimson Desert Enhanced Free Trial notice, Pearl Abyss
10. Crimson Desert review after 150 hours, Digital Spy
11. Crimson Desert Steam Key, Eneba, Eneba