Crimson Desert is finally playable on Intel Arc GPUs after driver update — but there's still plenty of work to be done

• Crimson Desert is now playable on Intel Arc GPUs, seemingly after Intel's latest driver update
• The game previously wouldn't launch on any Intel GPU, due to Pearl Abyss omitting compatibility
• Visual glitches are evident, but an official future update from Pearl Abyss or Intel should fix them

Pearl Abyss' Crimson Desert has provided a joyful experience to a variety of gamers on PS5 and Xbox Series X consoles, including those with gaming PCs powered by an Nvidia or AMD GPU. The same couldn't be said for Intel GPU users at launch, but the tide has suddenly turned.

As reported by Wccftech, Crimson Desert is now playable on Intel Arc GPUs, thanks to the latest GPU driver, noted by several users on Reddit. They're now able to boot into the game, which hasn't been possible since launch, with an error message previously stating 'the graphics device is currently not supported'.

This all comes after Pearl Abyss urged Intel Arc GPU users to request a refund for the game via its FAQ page, leaving both users and Intel itself bewildered by the decision to omit compatibility.

Well, thanks to backlash from Arc GPU users and Intel stating its "huge disappointment" at the lack of support, despite reaching out over the game's seven-year development period, Pearl Abyss recently promised future updates to provide compatibility; however, the latter is not exactly what we're seeing at this stage.

Crimson Desert screenshots after latest driver from r/IntelArc

Comment from r/IntelArc

While Crimson Desert is playable on Intel Arc GPUs, it's still far from being fully supported, as numerous screenshots (available above) show multiple visual glitches. Some of them look like they've been pulled from a book of nightmares, with the main character, Kliff, and other NPCs missing parts of their faces or bodies.

However, this should be expected, as this isn't an update from Pearl Abyss on the game's end, and Intel's driver patch notes don't reference Crimson Desert. Once updates arrive from both Pearl Abyss and Intel, performance and visual glitches should no longer be a concern.

Fortunately, the game being in a playable state is a step in the right direction, even if it wasn't intentional on Intel's end, and hopefully, we'll be able to move past the matter of full compatibility for Arc GPUs sooner rather than later.

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