Crimson Desert has ‘opened a new chapter in K-content’, according to the South Korean PM – and the game’s Steam player count highlights that, beating the likes of Marvel Rivals and keeping players interested even more than Elden Ring did.

• Crimson Desert’s Steam player count is still higher than several live service games a month after launch
• South Korean PM has praised Pearl Abyss, saying it has ‘opened a new chapter for K-content’
• Crimson Desert has sold over five million copies and has stronger player retention than Elden Ring did a month after launch

Pearl Abyss’ Crimson desert has been nearly untouchable since its March launch as it remains firmly at the center of gamer’s discussions, and the charts along with recent high-level praise only reinforce its current dominance in the single-player genre.

As reported by GamesRadar, Crimson desert still has a high number of Steam players a month after launch, with a 24-hour peak of 134,225 players, as shown on SteamDB. It is noteworthy that this 24-hour peak is higher than for several active and popular live service games, such as Arc Raiders (104,355), Marvel Rivals (133,145), and Battlefield 6 (57,117).

This is very rare for a single player game, especially one that is just over a month old. While the game’s vast open world likely has a role to play in its current player count, the player retention is ultimately a testament to how well Pearl Abyss has crafted the game, as many players often abandon similar games due to open world fatigue.

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In fact, Crimson Desert has been so successful that it has caught the eye of South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min-Seok, who recently said, “It [Crimson Desert] has captured the hearts of users around the world with a vivid game world created from start to finish using their [Pearl Abyss’] own technology,” which is known as the Black Space engine.