Sony wanted to lock Crimson Desert into a timed PlayStation exclusivity deal, but Pearl Abyss said no
UPDATE: Developer responds.
UPDATE 12.58am: Pearl Abyss has replied to Eurogamer's request for comment regarding PlayStation's reported publishing offer.
"In our last quarter earnings call, which is publicly available, we revealed that we would publish Crimson Desert independently. We of course honour and appreciate our business partners who we are constantly in touch with about our progress and plans, and we are discussing various forms of collaboration with them," the developer told us.
"Additionally, we have not announced any release date yet, so any articles about the topic are only speculation at this point. We look forward to showcasing a playable Crimson Desert build to media this week in Paris and to the public at G-Star in November."
The original story continues below.
ORIGINAL 11.54am: Sony reportedly tried to lock Crimson Desert developer Pearl Abyss into a timed PlayStation exclusivity deal.
According to a translation of the developer's investor relations, Pearl Abyss was approached by Sony, with the PlayStation maker hoping to act as publisher for the studio's upcoming open world action-adventure.
Should Pearl Abyss have taken Sony up on its offer, Crimson Desert would have remained a PlayStation exclusive for one year, "with no release on Xbox". PC distribution rights would also have belonged to Sony.
The developer, which is best known for MMORPG Black Desert Online as well as its upcoming creature collector DokeV, said this offer from Sony was "appealing" due to the company's marketing power and other incentives. However, Pearl Abyss ultimately decided to decline Sony's offer and move forward with self publishing (something it is said to be "99 percent certain" it will do).
The translated report notes that fellow Korea-based developer Shift Up entered an exclusivity agreement with Sony for its own release, Stellar Blade. However, Pearl Abyss said this was a different situation, as Shift Up did not have a publishing team in place.
"In a typical contract, 30 percent of revenue goes to platform fees, and the remaining 70 percent is split between the developer and publisher," reads the translation. "Since we already have the capability to self-publish globally and have overseas branches, we concluded that using our own resources would be more advantageous."
As for DokeV, Pearl Abyss said it expects the delayed project - once set to arrive in 2023 - will arrive now around 18 months after Crimson Desert's launch.
Pearl Abyss' comments come following reports PlayStation also entered into an exclusivity deal for Black Myth: Wukong, which caused confusion around its forthcoming Xbox release.
For more on Crimson Desert, you can check out a 50-minute video of early gameplay via the embed above.