Pearl Abyss’s open-world action RPG Crimson Desert has scored two nominations at the Golden Joystick Awards 2026, as reported by A 90s Kid. The game hit the market on March 19, 2026, and boasts an impressive Steam user score of 86% positive based on 80,394 reviews.
The source we checked doesn’t mention the specific categories, and we won’t speculate on them. We’ll keep you posted as soon as the full nominee list is out.
These nominations come at a time when the conversation around the 2026 Game of the Year is heating up. Polygon describes the final GOTY nominations as a “battleground of 8/10 games,” indicating a competitive field without a standout favorite. OddsShopper is already posting GOTY odds and questioning whether GTA 6 will even make the cut.
Looking at player feedback, it’s clear the game enjoys a large and engaged audience. Around 69,100 of the 80,394 Steam reviews are positive, which aligns with that 86% score. Priced at $69.99 on Steam, Crimson Desert is at the higher end of the standard AAA price range, making its approval rate even more impressive.
Activity has calmed down since launch. As of now, Steam shows 10,428 concurrent players. We don’t have the daily peak number for this point in time, so we can’t tell if this is a high or a low.
Pearl Abyss, the game’s developer and publisher, continues to support it. Our tracking shows the latest patch notes from September 23, 2026. Post-launch updates can play a crucial role in awards voting, especially since public-vote categories tend to favor games that stay relevant.
| Release date | March 19, 2026 |
| Steam user reviews | 86% positive (80,394 reviews) |
| Price on Steam | $69.99 |
| Current Steam players | 10,428 |
| Golden Joystick Awards 2026 nominations | 2 |
Community Pulse
Our sentiment tracker suggests that community mood is mostly negative, though the sample size is small: just 10 signals, with one Steam review repeated multiple times. That review expresses frustration. The player mentioned they “put up with this non storytelling piece of garbled together” design “long enough,” and specifically called out the Storm Crusher boss as the moment they quit. One review doesn’t outweigh the 80,394 positive ones, but it highlights that some players find difficulty and narrative delivery to be sticking points.
What To Watch
- Category details: We’ll find out which two categories Crimson Desert is nominated for, and who its competitors are, to gauge its chances.
- Player retention: If concurrent players stay near 10,000 or continue to drop, it could impact the game’s public-vote momentum.
- Balance and story updates: Future patches that tackle boss difficulty might help change the negative sentiment found in some reviews.
Sarah Chen
Sarah Chen is the Reviews and Guides Editor at Explosion.com. With a background in game design studies and 6 years of gaming journalism, Sarah brings technical insight to her reviews and creates comprehensive guides that help players get the most out of their games. She has reviewed over 200 titles across PC, PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo platforms. Her current obsessions include FromSoftware titles and indie roguelikes.
