Skyrim Meets Witcher AAA RPG Locks Release Date, Promising 80-Hour Epic for 2026

Despite being such a popular genre, getting an open-world RPG right is no easy task with titles such as The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt still leading the charge after all of these years.

However, one upcoming AAA RPG is set to give The Elder Scrolls and The Witcher a run for its money with a fast-approaching March release.

Crimson Desert.

First revealed back in 2020, its developer Pearl Abyss has finally revealed that Crimson Desert has gone gold.

Put simply, this means that the game has now wrapped up development and is ready for release, give or take a few minor tweaks which will most likely take place during or around its release.

It has been a long road, especially with details scarce but this is not the only announcement Pearl Abyss had to make.

The developers have also revealed that Crimson Desert will include a single-player campaign that can take anything from 50-80 hours to complete.

The campaign will come alongside a “definitive ending” and for those who wish to play with friends, fear not as a multiplayer mode is expected to arrive after launch.

Crimson Desert is expected to launch on 19 March and is now available to pre-order, but if you are still unsure, let us take some time to reveal what you can expect from this AAA RPG and what will set it apart from the rest.

Pearl Abyss

Not The Name I'd Pick For a Hero

In this open-world RPG, players will find themselves in the “beautiful yet brutal” continent of Pywel where they will embark on a journey as the Greymane Kliff.

As Kliff, you will restore what has been lost by exploring uncharted lands, battling threads and most importantly, rediscovering the magic that the world has to offer.

“A devastating ambush in the deep of night by their sworn enemies the Black Bears leaves members of the Greymanes dead or scattered across the continent,” the official Steam synopsis reads.

“Kliff – having lost his Greymane comrades, his family in all but name – is determined to reunite with the survivors, rebuild the fallen Greymanes, and reclaim what was lost.

But on a journey where alliances are forged, dangers abound, and mysterious factions are uncovered, Kliff will come to realize that an unprecedented threat and a destiny greater than he imagined await him.​”

As one of the most anticipated RPGs of the last six years, it is quite likely that Crimson Desert could be one of 2026’s biggest releases and luckily, we have just a few weeks left to find out.