Opinions on Crimson Desert may be split, but that isn’t stopping Xbox from celebrating the launch of the game with a special bonus free download that you can claim now. And the best part is, you don’t need Xbox Game Pass to get your hands on it, so everybody wins.
Don’t Miss This Crimson Desert Freebie
Who can turn down free stuff?
Microsoft recently added free new dynamic backgrounds for Xbox Series X|S. Two of them are first-party creations from Xbox, while the third is, as I’m sure you’ve guessed by now, based on Crimson Desert. This was dropped to celebrate the launch of the brand-new open-world RPG, alongside new themes based on Towerborne and Sea of Thieves.
If you’re really feeling the Crimson Desert love, you can apply the new background by heading into your console’s settings, and finding the dynamic background option. It should be under my background, which is in personalization under general.
If you’re looking for more Crimson Desert free goodies, there are still some Twitch drops for the next few days, though you don’t have forever to claim these limited-time rewards.
Here’s what we had to say in our Crimson Desert review:
“Crimson Desert has some brilliant ideas. It’s undeniably impressive in scope. The map is huge, and there’s so much to explore, but so little beneath the surface. You have to admire its ambition, and there are high points, but there’s also a lot of slogging around and meaningless fetch quests in between them. Ultimately, Crimson Desert could’ve benefited from a willingness to say no. Sure, it’s cool to have all these different features under one roof, but I’d rather have half as many, and each one twice as deep, interesting, and impactful on the world.”
While Crimson Desert launched to mixed Steam reviews, it seems to have found its footing thanks to some shockingly fast updates that patched some of the game’s more egregious issues. Developer Pear Abyss has also promised there’s more to come, and with the game still bringing in a huge number of players on Steam alone, I definitely believe Crimson Desert is only just getting started.
- Released
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March 19, 2026
- ESRB
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Mature 17+ / Blood, Drug Reference, Intense Violence, Strong Language
- Developer(s)
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Pearl Abyss
- Publisher(s)
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Pearl Abyss
- Number of Players
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Single-player