This article was updated by Andrea Tram on March 22, 2026 to add additional tips from the community to improve PS5 performance and a recent comment by Pearl Abyss. It was first published on March 21.
Some Crimson Desert gamers are reporting unusually blurry images on the PlayStation 5, including the more powerful Pro variant of Sony's console. Although the exact extent of the problem remains unconfirmed, Crimson Desert developer Pearl Abyss has already shared one potential workaround for PS5 owners to try while the studio looks for a permanent fix.
The South Korean studio's second ever title released for PC and consoles on March 19. Pearl Abyss has long had high expectations. Crimson DesertGraphics with many previews and trailers suggest that the open-world action-adventure would rank among the most visually impressive AAA releases in recent years. as a result Crimson Desert is already a strong contender to be one of the most graphically demanding games of 2026. While consoles should theoretically be insulated from major problems stemming from the title's resources, at least one notable technical issue made its way into the successful game's first build.
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Crimson Desert PS5 version has problem in 120Hz mode
Within hours of the game's release, some day one buyers took to social media and the official Pearl Abyss Discord server to report issues with Crimson DesertPS5 performance. Complaints center around the unusually soft image quality, with some players reporting textures so blurry that they significantly affect visual legibility. The main theory is that the problem is related to the 120Hz game mode, which is the setting that the vast majority of affected users have in common. Pearl Abyss marketing director Will Powers subscribes to this theory, responding to one March 20 complaint about blurry graphics by advising the affected player to disable 120Hz mode.
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While there's no shortage of modern TVs and monitors that support a 120Hz refresh rate, not all of them can do it while delivering a 4K image. Whether this presents a practical problem varies by game, which is why the PS5 allows users to enable the “120 Hz Output” option in the Video Output settings if their display supports this refresh rate at no resolution. Unlike many titles that require players to enable 120Hz in-game, Crimson Desert will always start in this mode when the corresponding setting in the Screen and Video menu is turned on. This can force the game to lower the resolution significantly if it detects that the given TV or monitor requires such a compromise.
Crimson Desert currently lacks in-game 120Hz mode switching, so the only way to test a fix for the blurring issue is to disable 120Hz video in the PS5 system settings under Display & Video > Video Output > 120Hz Output.
Still, not all news from Crimson Desert players are describing the same problem, suggesting that the PS5 issue may be more complex than a single bad default setting. One Discord user reported that the game was only blurry during combat and otherwise looked sharp, while others reported noticeably poor quality textures at less predictable times. At least one user on the Pearl Abyss Discord server reported that the issue persisted throughout gameplay, though it wasn't a universal experience. On the contrary, the testimonies of several players indicate that noticeable problems become apparent only after hours of play.
How Crimson Desert Approaches Frame Pacing
In 120Hz mode PS5 version Crimson Desert it aims for 40 frames per second in an effort to maintain an even frame rate. By repeating each frame three times, the game can provide a noticeably smoother experience than 30fps while remaining significantly less demanding than 60fps. On displays that don't support 120Hz, most games fall back to 30fps, even though they can reach 40fps, as the alternative would require uneven framerates that can cause inconsistent motion and microsmoothness.
Pearl Abyss shared a post on Twitter/X stating that they are considering fixing Crimson Desert's controls soon. In the meantime, she is checking all reports made on this link to take care of them as soon as possible; if players affected by PS5 visual issues want a quick fix, reporting can help.
From Crimson Desert was launched as one of the most visually ambitious AAA games in recent history, it is potentially more vulnerable to the image quality issues that affect players' early impressions. This is especially true given that the blurring issues affect the absolutely standard hardware that is the PS5, a system that developers have actively optimized for. Pearl Abyss has yet to provide a timeline for fixing the blurring issue. If simply disabling 120Hz mode on unsupported displays proves to be sufficient, a fix could arrive relatively soon.
- Released
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March 19, 2026
- ESRB
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Mature 17+ / Blood, Drug Reference, Intense Violence, Strong Language
- Developers
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Pearl Abyss
- Publishers
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Pearl Abyss
