Pearl Abyss has detailed its plans for smash hit action role-playing game Crimson Desert, confirming it is exploring multiplayer modes. Meanwhile, we have a target launch window for the Nintendo Switch 2 version, and talk of potential sequels.

In the South Korean company’s latest financial letter, Crimson Desert got a detailed follow-up strategy plan. None of this should come as much of a surprise given how well Crimson Desert has sold. Crimson Desert launched on March 19 and was an instant hit for Pearl Abyss, bringing in KRW 266.5 billion (approx. $178.8 million) in just a couple of weeks. More than 80% of those Crimson Desert sales came from North America and Europe. Less than three months after launch, Crimson Desert crossed the 6 million copies sold mark.

Detailing its second quarter results (April to June 2026), Pearl Abyss said Crimson Desert revenue softened slightly following the previous quarter, as the developer focused on content optimization rather than major expansions. The game sold approximately 2.11 million copies during the period, with digital sales accounting for 1.72 million copies (82%) and physical sales accounting for 0.39 million copies (18%).

Crimson Desert brought in KRW 136.1 billion (approx. $96.3 million) in the second quarter. Add that on to the approx. $178.8 million the game made in the launch quarter, and we’re looking at over a quarter of a billion dollars in revenue in just over three months. Looking ahead, Pearl Abyss projected Crimson Desert revenue will settle on KRW 468.9~497.3 billion (approx. $332~352 million dollars).

So, what’s Pearl Abyss doing to capitalize on the success of Crimson Desert? The DLC is currently under development scheduled for release “this year,” Pearl Abyss said, “while we refine its content direction and overall quality.” Expect an announcement during the third quarter of this year — so at some point before the end of September.

What could this DLC involve? Players have gone out of bounds and found various interesting parts of the map with unused content. There's also a named area to the east, called Sunbaked Peaks, that players are currently unable to reach. Perhaps a story expansion could open that up.

“Please note that plans regarding the total number of DLCs and their release cadence have not yet been finalized, as our primary focus is on ensuring the quality and successful execution of the first DLC,” Pearl Abyss added. “Subsequent DLC releases and operational plans will be determined based on a comprehensive evaluation of user feedback, sales trends, development resources, and company-wide pipelines.”

Then there’s “platform expansion.” The Switch 2 version has “reached a playable baseline, and we are currently conducting technical reviews regarding performance optimization and quality standard compliance, targeting a release in the first half of next year,” Pearl Abyss said.

“We are striving to make Crimson Desert available across as many platforms as possible,” Pearl Abyss continued. “However, platform expansion is not merely a straightforward port; the key requirement is ensuring that the game's graphics, combat action, and seamless open-world experience are fully preserved on each target device.”

Pearl Abyss sounds very interested in multiplayer for Crimson Desert, although it’s not yet sure it will work.

“Given Crimson Desert's dynamic action combat and expansive open-world structure, there is significant potential for expansion into multiplayer modes,” it explained. “However, integrating multiplayer functionality is far more complex than simply adding a new game mode; it represents a major technical initiative that requires comprehensive evaluation of server architecture, game balance, cross-platform stability, and live service operation models.

“Accordingly, we are currently conducting extensive research from both technical and gameplay perspectives. Our overarching goal is to extend how users engage with the Crimson Desert IP over the long term, and we will share further details through our official channels as our plans materialize.”

I’m not sure this means that Crimson Desert will get multiplayer. Perhaps the work being done now is with a future Crimson Desert game in mind, a multiplayer focused Crimson Desert game maybe, or even Crimson Desert 2. But it’s unclear — this may well be about the Crimson Desert that is out now getting multiplayer modes of some sort.

While multiplayer is on the table, a mobile version of Crimson Desert is not — understandable for such a technically impressive video game. And finally, there’s talk of Crimson Desert as a franchise, with Pearl Abyss saying it’s “not a one-off title, but a core flagship IP of our company designed for long-term growth and expansion.”

“Accordingly, while we remain open to various possibilities — including add-on content, platform expansion, and sequel titles — our immediate development priority is centered on Crimson Desert DLCs and our next pipelines.

“Regarding the broader Crimson Desert franchise, we will evaluate future development opportunities in due course as we service the main game and its DLCs, taking into account user feedback, market conditions, and commercial performance.”

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Xbox CEO Asha Sharma got to see a "live playthrough" of The Elder Scrolls 6, and she posted her reactions on social media afterwards. She also teased – in the vaguest of ways – the subtitle for the upcoming RPG.

"Live playthrough of The Elder Scrolls VI: ******** this morning," she posted on her X account. "The scale and grandeur are incredible. The story is even greater."

Her statement certainly poses a lot of questions, starting with, "What does ******** mean?" Did she use the exact number of asterisks for whatever the word is (it's eight asterisks, by the way)? How far along is the gameplay that she saw? What's the story about? By "incredible scale," did they show her the entire world in a flythrough? And does this mean we're any closer to getting a proper reveal?

For now, those questions will have to remain unanswered, and it's not as if the CEO of Xbox would come out of that demo and publicly post anything negative, so we'll have to take her comments with a grain of salt, but it's reassuring to learn that The Elder Scrolls 6: [Insert Subtitle Here] is far enough along where director Todd Howard and Bethesda Game Studios are comfortable showing it off to people outside of the studio (even if they're inside the same company).

As a reminder, it's now been over eight years since The Elder Scrolls 6 was officially announced. And I suppose we can end with one more question, given Xbox's recent pivot back to exclusives: will The Elder Scrolls 6, whenever it finally comes out, ship on a PlayStation console?

Ryan McCaffrey is IGN's executive editor of previews and host of IGN's weekly Xbox show, Podcast Unlocked, and a co-host of Next-Gen Console Watch. He's a North Jersey guy, so it's "Taylor ham," not "pork roll." Debate it with him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan.

Aspyr has plans to re-release more Lord of the Rings games following its shadow drop of The Lord of the Rings: War in the North on modern platforms.

In a press release for the new version of War in the North, Aspyr planted a small tease for the future of the Lord of the Rings franchise in gaming: "The Lord of the Rings: War in the North – Legacy Edition is licensed by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and is the first The Lord of the Rings title released by Aspyr," reads the press release. "Fans can look forward to even more classic releases by Aspyr from the beloved franchise in the future!"

That last part is the most notable bit, as it confirms we will be seeing more re-releases of classic Lord of the Rings games in the future. It's unclear which titles may follow, but there are a few possibilities. Aspyr has spent a lot of time bringing games to the Nintendo Switch, so it wouldn't be shocking if the studio ported Shadow of Mordor and/or Shadow of War to Switch 2 in the future. What fans really want, however, are likely re-releases of the titles made under EA in the early to mid 2000s.

This would include the movie tie-in games made during the PS2 era, such as the critically-acclaimed The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, and The Lord of the Rings: Conquest, which is basically Star Wars: Battlefront in Middle-earth. The latter wasn't as well-received by critics, but it holds a soft spot among some fans. There are also a bunch of great strategy games like Battle for Middle-earth that fans would love to revisit. It's unclear if there'd be any rights issues with those games, given EA published them.

Although Warner Bros. holds the rights to the franchise, licensed games from this era are notoriously wrapped up in all kinds of rights issues (see Activision's Marvel games, for example). We've reached out to Aspyr for comment on whether the EA titles are fair game or not, but either way, more classic Lord of the Rings games are on the way to modern hardware.

Cade Onder is a freelancer for IGN's news team. He covers all things entertainment, including gaming, film, and more. You can find him on Twitter @Cade_Onder.