The new Crimson Desert patch fixes one of the game's most annoying issues

This article was updated by Andrea Tram on March 23, 2026 in response to the new Crimson Desert update fixing the controls and keys. It was first published on March 21.

Crimson Desert developer Pearl Abyss has confirmed that a patch is in the works to resolve persistent control issues after many players reported discomfort while playing. Although it is frustrating that this problem is plaguing this early Crimson desert experience for many players, it's good that the developer is moving quickly to fix it.

Overall, Crimson Desert has been quite polarizing so far. While there has been much praise for the game and its vast, ambitious world, other areas such as the narrative have drawn a lot of criticism. The controls also left many players feeling the need to vent their frustration online, with several instances of players needing to use multiple inputs for basic actions. For example, on the Xbox Series X/S, players press LB and A to interact with items, which would be a single button press in most games of the genre. Doing this constantly annoys players, and the fact that there is no option to manually rebind the controls in the game makes the problem worse.

Crimson Desert The physical version has a big catch

The physical version of Crimson Desert comes with an unexpected limitation that means players won't be able to jump right in.

A patch for Crimson Desert Controls is on the way following player complaints

Pearl Abyss has started releasing version 1.00.03 for Crimson Desert, partially fixing the issue with controls and keys. The patch also addresses other issues and is currently available for PC and consoles, with more fixes on the way.

In a statement on X, developer Pearl Abyss confirmed that he was aware that Crimson desert controls were causing problems for players and stated that he was “currently working on a patch to fix this”. The studio also said it apologized for “not providing keyboard and mouse players with a satisfactory gaming experience” and reiterated the fact that it “takes your feedback seriously”.

It's unclear at this point exactly what form this will take, whether it will be improved inputs out of the box, or whether it will give players the ability to rebind the controls themselves to better customize the experience. There's also no indication of when players can expect these improvements to be released in a future patch for the brand new open-world RPG, but it's a positive sign that the developer is already on it.

Solve the decision Crimson desertThe control issue is a developer tuning change. Just after launch, one Pearl Abyss employee described it as “like riding a bike”, suggesting Crimson DesertThe controls will come naturally to players once they have some time with the game. While it's certainly true that most players will adapt over time, it's still always better to give players the option to change the controls to something they're more comfortable with. Giving players more customization in situations like this is very rarely a bad thing.

Crimson desert players weren't shy about sharing their RPG opinions with Pearl Abyss in these early stages. For example, many players wish Crimson desert had his own characters after protagonist Kliff proved unpopular with some. Issues like clunky controls will always take precedence over larger overhauls like this, but it will be very interesting to see how much the developer is able to iron out in the coming weeks and months.