The Witcher Meets God of War RPG Gets First Look at Open-World Gameplay

The Witcher games and the God of War reboot trilogy are the games to beat when it comes to open-world RPG games, and this 2026 release might kick them off their pedestal.

Anyone who knows me will know that I’m just so excited for Crimson Desert, which is finally launching later this year.

I’ve played it three times now at Summer Game Fest and Gamescom, getting to grips with the explosive combat and breathtakingly beautiful open-world.

It’s taking a page out of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim’s book, as the chances are you can see it and you can travel to it.

During my time with the game I got a taste of what the open-world has to offer and the latest trailer is going more in-depth than ever before.

Quick side-note before we jump in, those who preorder the game get the main character Kliff as a Fortnite skin, which is the true measure of whether your game has made it or not.

The Features Overview trailer reiterates a lot of what we already know but deviates from prior overviews by telling us what to expect from the side-content. Like so many other RPGs there isn’t just one path to take in order to get to your objective.

What is Crimson Desert About?

Players will be encouraged to explore, finding different and interesting activities and characters along the way.

This is made simple by the wide-variety of traversal methods like a magic grappling hook, a glider and even a dragon. Those are just a few examples and I’m excited to give all of these a proper spin.

Pearl Abyss

Some of the side-content teased that really spoke to me was the promise of helping folks with everyday tasks.

With RPGs like The Witcher III: Wild Hunt or God of War (2018) it’s easy to remember your first fight with a griffin or climbing a giant the size of a skyscraper but sometimes it’s the little things that go a long way.

It’s a nice way of breaking up the gameplay and gives you a chance to slow down and really take in the world around you.

Crimson Desert still has heaps of intensity though, like the promise of hopping into the driver’s seat of a mech and rampaging across the battlefield.

We’ve not got long to wait before Crimson Desert is finally upon us as the game launches on 19 March.