Why Didn’t Crimson Desert Use Unreal Engine 5?
Crimson Desert stood out as a game particularly notable for its visual quality and performance despite its large open world. Instead of using a readily available and widely used solution like Unreal Engine 5, Pearl Abyss chose to continue with its own BlackSpace Engine. According to the studio, this decision was based more on the desire to have complete control over the game’s technology than on the convenience offered by ready-made tools.
For Crimson Desert, Control Was More Important Than Convenience
Jin-ho Yoon, a senior executive on game engine development at Pearl Abyss, acknowledges that commercial game engines are quite useful and offer developers many ready-made features. However, the studio did not want to make its core game development capabilities dependent on an externally provided technology.
Another reason for this decision is that the team is already quite proficient with its own engine. Pearl Abyss has been working on its in-house technologies since Black Desert Online and has years of experience with BlackSpace Engine. Therefore, switching to a completely different engine would have required the team to rebuild a significant portion of their existing expertise.
Unreal Engine 5 offers powerful tools today, such as Nanite and advanced lighting technologies, but it is also frequently criticized for performance issues, especially in large-scale projects. Pearl Abyss, on the other hand, had more room for maneuver in terms of hardware scaling and optimization because it could directly shape its own engine according to Crimson Desert’s needs.
In conclusion, the decision not to use Unreal Engine 5 for Crimson Desert is not due to a technical deficiency, but a conscious choice. Pearl Abyss chose to control its own technology rather than relying on the conveniences of a ready-made engine. Considering the performance achieved despite the game’s vast world and visual quality, the studio’s decision to stick with BlackSpace Engine seems to have paid off for now.
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