The upcoming Crimson Desert is shaping up to be one of the most ambitious Open World titles in recent times in more ways than one and according to a former Rockstar animator, it could give all other games a serious run for their money this year especially if for some reason Rockstar’s own GTA 6 fumbles, which is pretty much an impossibility in all likelihood though.
“This game, this could be Game of the Year, okay. Mark my words,” former GTA V and God of War Ragnarok animator Mike York said during a recent breakdown of Crimson Desert’s gameplay features.
“And the reason for that is because of how much you can get lost in this game… it really is a contender when it comes to all the cool stuff all this game kind of has to offer.”
York continues: “If GTA VI drops the ball, this could be Game of the Year,” also adding that “If GTA VI wasn’t here at all this year, this (Crimson Desert) would probably take Game of the Year, from what it looks like.”
That’s some massive praises for developer Pearl Abyss’ upcoming title, and more than any game may hope for, especially in a year when Rockstar’s behemoth Open World title GTA 6 is also scheduled to launch.
Also, the upcoming Crimson Desert’s world may just be the biggest to have ever come out of gaming, on this side of GTA 6, of course. But it’s significantly larger than the world we saw in Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption 2 and about twice as big as Bethesda’s Skyrim, which is a mighty impressive feat on many accounts.
Crimson Desert’s official PC system requirements have been revealed couple days ago so check out what you’ll need to run the game at both minimum and recommended quality settings.
Crimson Desert is slated to be released on 19 March 2026 for Playstation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Windows and Mac OS.