Crimson Desert Becomes the Most Popular Demo at ChinaJoy

중국 차이나조이에서 최고 인기 시연작 된 붉은사막

gamemeca Ⅰ Ryu Jong-hwa 게임메카 류종화 기자 2025.08.02 00:39 UTC+9

AI Summary

Pearl Abyss brought Crimson Desert to ChinaJoy 2025 with a massive demo setup. Despite a recent appearance in Shanghai, the booth was packed with eager local players. The refined combat mechanics and AAA quality made it one of the event's biggest highlights.

Pearl Abyss is wasting no time. Their upcoming title, Crimson Desert, has just touched down at ChinaJoy 2025 with a full-blown B2C booth to greet Chinese gamers. Fresh off their appearance at Bilibili World just two weeks ago, the team returned to Shanghai with the game slated for a release later this year. You might assume the local excitement would have cooled off so soon after the last outing, but you would be dead wrong. If anything, word-of-mouth from those who sampled the game at Bilibili World has only fueled the fire, drawing an even larger crowd to the Pearl Abyss booth.

At this year's ChinaJoy, Crimson Desert transformed its booth into a thematic showcase of the game's key boss areas. The demo allowed players to test their mettle against four distinct bosses, including the Deer King and the Reed Devil. The developer has also polished the mechanics, adding 'Perfect Guard' and 'Lock-on Evasion' to the build while refining the overall controls. In a year where actual playable demo stations were surprisingly thin on the ground—mostly reserved for mobile or indie titles—Crimson Desert stood out as a proper AAA-tier experience. We captured the scene as local gamers flocked to get a taste of this high-fidelity title.

▲ The Crimson Desert booth located in Hall N1 of ChinaJoy 2025 (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ The Chinese localized title is 'Hongse Samak' (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ A long queue formed almost immediately after the doors opened at 9 AM (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ Stepping inside the Crimson Desert booth (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ A lone, desolate tree stands right in the center (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ The rest of the space is packed with demo stations. Aside from the PlayStation booth, Crimson Desert was practically the only one at this year's ChinaJoy to dedicate its entire floor space to playable demos (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ The seat beneath the tree is undoubtedly the best spot in the house (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ The controls might be tricky for newcomers, but these dedicated Chinese gamers powered through with pure passion (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ The large screen kept running footage of Crimson Desert on a loop (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ Participants who demoed the game and added it to their wishlist walked away with prizes like backpacks and handheld fans (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

▲ The line had only grown longer by the time I stepped out to snap a few photos (Image courtesy: Gamemeca)

펄어비스가 개발 중인 신작 '붉은사막'이 차이나조이 2025에 B2C 부스를 내고 중국 게이머들을 만났다. 올해 말 출시를 예정하고 있는 붉은사막은 지난 7월 빌리빌리 월드 출전에 이어 약 2주 만에 상하이를 다시 찾았다. 상하이 게이머들 입장에서는 얼마 전 만나본 게임인지라 차이나조이에서는 다소 열기가 식지 않았을까 싶었지만, 예상은 빗나갔다. 오히려 빌리빌리 월드 당시 게임을 즐겨 본 사람들의 입소문이 퍼졌는지, 더욱 많은 이들이 붉은사막을 체험해 보러 펄어비스 부스를 찾았다.

이번 차이나조이에서 붉은사막은 게임 속 주요 보스 지역을 테마로 한 부스를 선보였다. 시연 버전에서는 사슴왕, 리드 데빌 등 4종의 보스를 상대로 한 보스전을 즐길 수 있었는데, 기존 게임쇼에서 선보였던 시연 버전에 퍼펙트가드와 회피 락온 등을 더하고 조작법도 개선했다. 특히 일부 모바일게임과 인디게임을 제외하면 시연 부스가 많지 않았던 올해 차이나조이에서, 붉은사막은 본격적인 AAA급 시연 부스를 선보여 고품질 게임을 즐기고 싶어하는 이들의 방문이 이어졌다. 현지 게이머들과 접점을 확대하고 있는 붉은사막에 대한 차이나조이 참관객들의 모습을 카메라에 담았다.