Five months after launch, Pearl Abyss is taking a moment to show off just how far Crimson Desert has come. On August 12, the studio published an official retrospective — a video titled "Update Highlights: The Journey Since Launch," paired with a matching notice and a detailed infographic on the game's official site — breaking down everything that's changed since the March 19 release.
And it's a genuinely long list.
The Numbers, Straight From Pearl Abyss
According to the studio's own count, Crimson Desert has received:
17 patches since launch
20+ new features and content additions
120 new mounts and pets — including wyvern mounts players can hatch and raise themselves
70 new outfits, equipment, and items
Pearl Abyss framed the whole thing as a thank-you to players, closing the announcement with a simple message: "All made possible thanks to you, Greymanes."
What Actually Changed
The 17 patches weren't just bug fixes padding out a number — several of them introduced real, structural changes to how the game plays. Early updates focused on fixing some of the game's notable launch issues: an expanded private storage system and improved keyboard and mouse controls.
From there, the updates kept building. New skills arrived for all three playable characters. Difficulty options were added for players who wanted the combat harder — or easier. Boss Rematch and Re-Blockade modes gave players fresh reasons to revisit fights they'd already cleared. Housing, farming, and eventually trade systems all got meaningful expansions. Fast travel was also expanded, with more Abyss Nexus points added, while gliding received stamina-cost reductions.
None of this is small-scale polish. It's the kind of post-launch investment that signals a studio treating a game as an ongoing platform rather than something to quietly move on from.
The Full Patch Timeline
Pearl Abyss actually published a full infographic alongside the announcement, mapping out what shipped in each numbered patch since launch.
Here's the complete breakdown:
Patch | Key Additions |
|---|---|
1.00.00 | New Item Storage, Improved Controls |
1.01.00 | New Mounts, Quality-of-Life Improvements |
1.02.00 | Private Storage Expansion, Headgear Visibility Option Added |
1.03.00 | New Skills for Each Playable Character, Improvements to Puzzle Gameplay |
1.04.00 | Difficulty Settings Added, Inventory UI Improvements, Keyboard/Mouse and Controller Preset Options, Improvements to Distant Scenery Graphics Quality, New Pets: Birds |
1.05.00 | New Content: Boss Rematch, Re-Blockade, New Legendary Animal Pets |
1.06.00 | New Special Mounts, Display Sheath Option, New Minigame: Claw Machine |
1.07.00 | More Bosses for Rematches, New Unarmed Combat Skills for Damiane |
1.08.00 | Pond for Keeping Fish Added, New Pet: Baby Wyvern |
1.09.00 | Controller Remapping, New Pets: Small Animals, Farming Content Improvements |
1.10.00 | New Mount: Wyverns, New Pet: Kuku Bird Chick, New Minigames: Pinball and Orb Roll |
1.11.00 | New Challenges to Register More Pets |
1.12.00 | Housing Additions: New Equipment and Furniture, Outdoor Housing Customization Added, Quality-of-Life Improvements for Damiane and Oongka |
1.13.00 | New Equipment and Outfits, Rest with Pets |
1.14.00 | Cross-Save (PC, Console) |
1.16.00 | Trading Content Improvements |
One thing worth flagging: Pearl Abyss's own infographic lists patches up to 1.14.00, then jumps directly to 1.16.00 — there's no 1.15.00 shown, even though the studio's official total still lands on 17 patches. We're reporting the discrepancy as it appears in the source material rather than speculating on the reason for the gap.
A few of these are worth calling out specifically. Cross-Save (1.14.00) is a genuinely significant addition — allowing players to carry progress between supported PC and console versions removes a real barrier for anyone splitting time across platforms. And the steady drip of new mounts and pets, capped off by wyverns you can hatch and raise yourself, has clearly been a deliberate long-term hook for the game's more collection-focused players.
Why This Matters
This retrospective lands at an interesting moment — it comes right on the heels of Pearl Abyss's Q2 earnings call, where the studio confirmed a first paid DLC before the end of 2026 and a Switch 2 port targeting early 2027. Taken together, the picture is pretty clear: Crimson Desert faced criticism around some aspects of its launch, and Pearl Abyss has spent the five months since steadily patching and expanding the game.
Have you jumped back into Crimson Desert since launch, or are you waiting for the DLC to give it another shot? Let us know in the comments.