Pearl Abyss’s highly anticipated open-world title Crimson Desert isn’t even out yet, but it’s already igniting passionate debate across the gaming community. With its March 19 release date fast approaching, players have been locked in a surprisingly heated argument: is Crimson Desert an RPG, or isn’t it? The discussion has revealed just how blurry genre lines have become in modern gaming, even as the developer itself seems content to sidestep the label entirely.
The controversy kicked off when a user on X pointed out that Crimson Desert lacks traditional RPG staples like experience points and character levels. Instead, players acquire new abilities by discovering artifacts scattered throughout the world and can upgrade their gear through crafting and purchasing. Pearl Abyss officially describes the game as an “open-world action-adventure” set on the continent of Pywel, where players control a fixed protagonist named Kliff through a set narrative — leaving little room for the branching storylines and deep character customization many associate with role-playing games, as IGN reported.
Not everyone agrees with that assessment, however. Supporters of the RPG classification argue that the game features gear scores, skill trees, and stat-based character builds — systems that are deeply rooted in RPG tradition. The debate quickly expanded into broader philosophical territory, with fans questioning whether titles like Red Dead Redemption 2 or The Legend of Zelda qualify as RPGs under similar criteria. Some commentators compared Crimson Desert more closely to action-adventure titles like Just Cause or Shadow of Mordor, suggesting the developer is deliberately avoiding the RPG tag to manage player expectations around the kind of experience it delivers.
While the genre argument rages on, Crimson Desert has been earning goodwill on other fronts. In an interview on the Dropped Frames podcast, Pearl Abyss marketing director Will Power confirmed that the game features fully human voice acting — a detail that stands out in an industry increasingly experimenting with AI-generated performances. “All of our voices are done by humans,” Power stated, noting that main NPCs and side quest characters alike are performed by real actors across multiple languages including English, Korean, and Chinese, according to Eurogamer.
The commitment to human talent is part of a broader pitch from Pearl Abyss positioning Crimson Desert as a “premium experience.” In a notable departure from its predecessor Black Desert Online, the upcoming title will contain no microtransactions whatsoever. For a studio known for the monetization-heavy MMO space, the decision signals a clear effort to court a different audience — one hungry for a polished, complete package at launch.
Whether Crimson Desert ultimately lands as an RPG, an action-adventure, or something in between, the fervor surrounding it suggests Pearl Abyss has already succeeded at one thing: getting people to care deeply about a game that hasn’t even shipped yet. Players on all sides of the debate will get their answer when the title launches on March 19 for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.