Pearl Abyss Says AI Now Tests Game Ideas Before They Are Built
Pearl Abyss, the developer behind Crimson Desert, says it now uses AI tools to test game design ideas before anyone builds them into the game.
The company said it used to check each game system only after building it by hand. Now it uses AI to validate, or check whether an idea works, across a wide range of concepts. That happens before the idea is put into the game itself, a stage the company calls implementation.
According to Eurogamer, Pearl Abyss uses AI at several points in development. These include automating repetitive tasks, supporting content creation and optimising testing. The company says it is expanding this across the whole development pipeline, the chain of stages that takes a game from first idea to finished product.
Pearl Abyss also describes the technology as a tool. It supports concept checks and day-to-day productivity, the company said, while the core gameplay and the actual content are still driven by its development team.
The company also acknowledged a specific problem. Some "2D visual props" in Crimson Desert, flat art items that sit in the game world, were generated with AI tools. Pearl Abyss said those pieces were meant to be replaced with human-made art, and they were removed in a patch after launch. A patch is a software update that changes a game after release, and the company did not present the removal as a separate issue from its wider AI use.
Pearl Abyss is targeting a launch for DokeV in the second half of 2028. The game was first aimed at a 2023 launch, Eurogamer reports. The company said more information about DokeV should arrive within the year.
Crimson Desert is also being prepared for Nintendo's Switch 2 console. Pearl Abyss is targeting a launch there in the first half of 2027.
For players, the practical details are the dates and the stated targets behind them. DokeV has a half-year window, and the Switch 2 version of Crimson Desert has its own window. Both are the developer's announced targets, and the next detailed update on DokeV is expected before the end of the year.
