South Korean Prime Minister's Comment on Crimson Desert

South Korea's prime minister drew praise Crimson Desert and praised Pearl Abyss for massively boosting the nation's video game industry. The head of state offered in response to another Crimson Desert business milestone

Open-world action-adventure Pearl Abyss hits digital and physical store shelves on March 19. Until 20 Crimson Desert has already surpassed 2 million sales, instantly establishing itself as one of the biggest successes of 2026 so far. Pearl Abyss has managed to maintain that momentum in the five weeks since, averaging 1 million additional sales per week. According to the latest studio update Crimson desert as of April 15, it had sold just north of 5 million copies.

Crimson Desert fans have a new free download to claim on Steam

Crimson Desert fans can download the game for free right now on Steam.

South Korea's prime minister praises Crimson Desert as a turning point for K-Gaming

In the latest testimony to this snowball, South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min-seok heaped praise on the game, as well as Pearl Abyss itself. Kim publicly admired when he went to X on April 24 Crimson desert's latest sales milestone, suggesting the hit open-world game represents an important turning point for Korea's domestic gaming industry and its ability to expand across platforms, including consoles.

South Korea's prime minister pledges to support the domestic gaming industry

Kim's post on social media went beyond a routine congratulatory message. The Prime Minister said so Crimson desertExcellence compared to the rest of South Korea's gaming industry has helped elevate the sector to the global stage, citing Pearl Abyss' patented technology, photorealistic visuals and use of Korean cultural elements such as taekwondo and cuisine as signs that the title has opened up what he called a new chapter in K content. Buoyed by this success, Kim pledged to “take responsibility” for actively supporting the domestic gaming business and helping to create the conditions in which Korean games can to develop into one of the main pillars of the country's wider cultural exports, thereby expanding the significance Crimson desert beyond sales performance itself.

Premier's support adds another layer to an already unusually strong early attempt at new Pearl Abyss intellectual property. In the broader context of the market Crimson Desert is currently among the best-selling games of 2026, although it is not leading the global charts, since more than a month has passed since then Resident Evil Requiem it celebrated 6 million sales in mid-March. According to a late April update from game director Koshi Nakanishi, the survival horror game has since added another million units to its lifetime sales.

Guess the emoji games.

Easy (120s) Medium (90s) Hard (60s)

The last meaning of Pearl Abyss Crimson desert the update arrived on April 24 with Hotfix 1.04.02, a day after Patch 1.04.00 added difficulty options, storage features, new pets, new skills, and controller presets. A clearer indication of the game's immediate plan came in the April 9 developer update, when the company said it plans to roll out new content gradually from April to June, including rematches with bosses, re-blocking, expanded control customization, and other combat and quality-of-life features. That makes another substantial update in the coming weeks seem likely, though Pearl Abyss hasn't announced a specific date for the next big content drop.