Crimson Desert is already turning heads with its world size claims, as Pearl Abyss says Pywel will be at least double Skyrim’s playable area and bigger than Red Dead Redemption 2.
The statement comes from Will Powers, a PR director for Pearl Abyss, who discussed the game during an interview featured around the New Game+ Showcase.
Instead of reducing the world to a neat numerical size, Powers explained that scale is more about feel than distance, because a number won’t convey how far away locations seem, how quickly traversal works, how many detours you encounter, or how much content fills the terrain.
Why Is Pearl Abyss Avoiding Exact Map Numbers?
Still, even without exact measurements, the comparison itself is a huge flex because it deliberately sets Crimson Desert against two of the most recognizable open-world benchmarks ever made.
Skyrim remains one of the most iconic RPG sandboxes of all time, while Red Dead Redemption 2 is often treated as the gold standard for atmosphere and world detail.
By putting Pywel ahead of both maps, Pearl Abyss is not just selling size, but setting expectations for a continent that can sustain a long adventure without running out of surprises.
To better explain what “twice Skyrim” might actually look like, it points to widely shared fan estimates for Skyrim and RDR2’s map sizes (not official numbers) and uses that framing to suggest Crimson Desert could sit above the standard scale for today’s open-world RPGs.
The important takeaway is that Pearl Abyss is leaning heavily on scale as the game’s identity, and the near-launch timing makes the claim feel deliberate and definitive.
At the same time, Pearl Abyss seems aware that map size has become a controversial selling point.
You can tell right away from the online reaction, because a lot of players basically said, “Cool, but what’s actually in it?” That kind of skepticism is almost automatic in open-world conversations now, since the genre has trained people to expect “big but empty” maps full of repetitive camps, recycled errands, and long stretches of nothing between real points of interest.
What Did the Developer Say About “Size vs Substance”?
That is why Powers’ second point matters just as much as the first, because after comparing Pywel to Skyrim and Red Dead Redemption 2, he immediately emphasized that size means nothing if the world is not interactive.
He explained that open-world games work best when they are packed with “activities” and “distractions” that naturally pull players away from the main story.
Pearl Abyss’ message is that Pywel is big on purpose, and it’s meant to be dense and active, not just oversized.
That’s easy to say, and players know studios say it all the time, but what makes it notable here is that the developer representative is directly addressing the most common criticism of open worlds in the same breath as the size claim.
The studio saw the backlash coming and is trying to counter it early.
Can a Massive Map Actually Stay Interesting for Dozens of Hours?
Even with all of that, the biggest unanswered question is still execution, and this is where the community’s skepticism is actually justified.
A massive open world can either be a landmark achievement or a clear case of bloat.
Crimson Desert is dealing with the expectations that come with years of development and massive ambition, and when something looks “too good to be true,” audiences naturally suspect trade-offs in quest quality, content variety, pacing, or world depth.
Ideally, Pywel captures what defines the best open worlds, with nonstop discovery, worthwhile secrets, and something meaningful to do no matter where you go.
The worst-case scenario is that the map becomes an inflated checklist, where “content” means repeated structures and predictable side objectives stretched across a continent.
When Does Crimson Desert Release and What Platforms Is It Coming To?
At this point, what seems certain is that Pearl Abyss is setting the bar high on purpose, inviting comparisons to Skyrim and Red Dead Redemption 2, and promising a world that feels substantial, not just large.
If the world truly is bigger than RDR2 and at least double Skyrim’s playable area, then Pywel could be one of the largest single-player fantasy sandboxes in years—but the studio knows it only matters if the continent feels alive, interactive, and worth exploring for dozens (or hundreds) of hours.
We’ll find out whether that ambition pays off when Crimson Desert launches on March 19, 2026 for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.
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