‘Crimson Desert’ Studio Says Steam Charts Helped It Hit 6 Million Sales

InnovationGaming‘Crimson Desert’ Studio Says Steam Charts Helped It Hit 6 Million SalesByPaul Tassi,Senior Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. News and opinion about video games, television, movies and the internet.Follow AuthorJun 11, 2026, 11:18am EDTCrimson DesertPearl AbyssCrimson Desert has hit yet another milestone: 6 million sales since its March 19 release this year. The game’s review scores among critics were a bit ho-hum, but players ate it up, especially with the non-stop, large-scale updates that arrive every week or so, and have drastically transformed the game in just a few months. That 6 million sales mark means that Crimson Desert is the second-best-selling game in the US in 2026, so far.Now, in a Dextero interview at Summer Game Fest, Pearl Abyss Director of PR and Marketing, Will Powers, credited an interesting, controversial metric as helping Crimson Desert reach these heights:“If I want to promote the game, a great way to do that is to have a sustained player base and constantly be high up on the Steam charts.”“Having continued support and continued content both rewards your community and the people that have invested time in it, as well as doing free marketing without having to spend it elsewhere. So you’re spending it on adding more content to the game instead of spending it on advertising.”If you follow industry discourse, this is rather funny given that Steam Charts have become a point of non-stop discussion, and low ones in particular are often weaponized against struggling games. But the opposite is also true, leading to positive press, and in Crimson Desert’s case, the numbers have been a point of pride.Crimson DesertPearl AbyssPlay Puzzles & Games on ForbesFEATURED | Frase ByForbes™Unscramble The Anagram To Reveal The PhrasePlay NowPinpoint By LinkedinGuess The CategoryPlay NowQueens By LinkedinCrown Each RegionPlay NowCrossclimb By LinkedinUnlock A Trivia LadderPlay NowCrimson Desert, des...