Crimson Desert launch times and release date

It may have taken a few delays to get us here, but the Crimson Desert release date is just around the corner and I'm starting to see why the Pearl Abyss action RPG took so long. The world of Pywel looks massive, and even without Black Desert's iconic character creator there to lose myself in, there's no shortage of stuff to do.

Or at least that's what I've gathered from my colleague and fellow RPG nerd, Mollie Taylor, who described it as "a game that tries it all" in her Crimson Desert review. I may not be interested in sampling a little bit of everything she mentioned, but I do need to know more about this goat black market and housing decor.

Perhaps you're more interested in the arm wrestling bits or horse taming, but either way, I can help you with counting down the hours by sharing more on the Crimson Desert release times and preload details.

When is the Crimson Desert unlock time?

Crimson Desert will release simultaneously across all platforms on Thursday, March 19, though the timing pushes it to early March 20 in places like Australia. It's a worldwide launch, so that means you won't be stuck watching friends in timezones hours ahead play without you.

Here are the Crimson Desert global unlock times by region:

• Pacific US: 3 pm PDT, March 19
• Eastern US: 6 pm EDT, March 19
• UK: 10 pm GMT, March 19
• Europe: 11 pm CET, March 19
• Australia: 9 am AET, March 20
• New Zealand: 11 am NZDT, March 20

If your location isn't listed, check out this handy site for timezone conversions and see when Crimson Desert unlocks for you.

Crimson Desert release date countdown timer

Is there preloading for Crimson Desert?

Yes, you can preload Crimson Desert right now through Steam. I just finished the process myself, and the initial download size was a little over 92 GB. You'll need more than that come launch, as Crimson Desert's minimum specs require you to free up 150 GB of storage.