Crimson Desert Debuts Strong on Steam, But Slay the Spire 2 Takes the Lead

As anticipated, *Crimson Desert* made a significant splash on Steam during its opening weekend, though it didn’t quite reach the heights some had hoped for. The game from Pearl Abyss saw a peak of 248,530 players online on Sunday, which falls short of the biggest launches of 2026 so far, as well as the top historical figures in its genre.

Currently, the title for the largest launch of 2026 belongs to the indie deck-building roguelike *Slay the Spire 2*, which, despite its modest budget compared to *Crimson Desert*, peaked at an impressive 574,638 players on its launch Sunday earlier in March. *Slay the Spire 2* has also demonstrated remarkable staying power, hitting a peak of 463,795 players this past Sunday. It consistently ranks fourth in daily player counts, trailing behind the usual heavyweights of *Counter-Strike 2*, *PUBG*, and *Dota 2*, while staying ahead of *Crimson Desert*, *Apex Legends*, and others.

*Crimson Desert* now stands as the third-largest Steam launch of 2026, following *Slay the Spire 2* and *Resident Evil Requiem*, which reached 344,214 concurrent players on February 28.

In terms of all-time records, *Crimson Desert*’s peak player count ranks as the 67th highest on Steam. While that’s a notable achievement, it pales in comparison to single-player giants like *Elden Ring* (over 890,000 players at launch), *Cyberpunk 2077* (over 1 million on day one), and *Baldur’s Gate 3* (over 800,000 players during its launch weekend). These comparisons may be unfair, but during its hype cycle, many expected *Crimson Desert* to be in that league.

On Friday, Pearl Abyss revealed that *Crimson Desert* sold 2 million copies on its first day, a solid launch by most metrics, though it seems investors were looking for even more. Following reviews that fell below an 80 on Metacritic, the company’s share price dropped by 30%, and it dipped further post-launch as player feedback echoed the reviewers’ critiques.

However, there are signs of improvement. Over the weekend, *Crimson Desert*’s Steam review rating climbed from “mixed” to “mostly positive,” and the developer has started to address player concerns, apologizing for the “unintentional” use of generative AI art in the game and rolling out patches to enhance controls, difficulty, and item storage.

With *Crimson Desert* now in the hands of players, the narrative reflects the mixed reviews: it may not be the monumental success anticipated during its hype, but it’s certainly not a total failure either. The real challenge for Pearl Abyss begins now; who knows, in a couple of years, we might see a turnaround akin to what happened with *Cyberpunk 2077* or *No Man’s Sky*.