Pearl Abyss has announced that Crimson Desert Enhanced has been nominated for the Players Choice Award at PlayStation Partner Awards 2026 Japan Asia. The open world action adventure stands among the 30 most played titles in the region competing for the fan voted prize, and players can cast their votes through the official PlayStation Blog announcement page for the awards until November 6. Winners will be revealed on December 3.
The Players Choice Award honors the titles with the strongest player engagement across Japan and Asia. Candidates are drawn directly from the 30 titles released between October 1 2025 and September 30 2026 with the highest total playtime in the region during that window, and the five games earning the most fan votes take home the prize. The nomination puts Crimson Desert Enhanced in the company of the most played PlayStation releases of the past year, a notable result for a new action adventure from a Korean studio competing for attention in the Japanese market.
How to vote for Crimson Desert before November 6
Voting runs from October 29 through November 6 at 23:59 Japan time, which is 14:59 UTC on the same day according to the official voting notice on the Crimson Desert site. Fans can vote on the official PlayStation Partner Awards voting page, and each voter needs a PlayStation Network account with a limit of one vote per person. Voters will also receive a special avatar as a thank you gift at a later date.
If you want to support the Greymanes, the process takes only a few minutes. Head to the voting page, sign in with your PlayStation Network account and pick Crimson Desert from the Players Choice ballot before the cutoff. With only five winners emerging from 30 nominees, every vote counts toward pushing Pearl Abyss into the final group that gets honored on December 3.
A milestone for Pearl Abyss in Japan
The nomination caps a busy season of outreach by Pearl Abyss to players in Japan and other global markets. The company operated large scale hands on demo booths for Crimson Desert at Tokyo Game Show, giving attendees extended time with the game on the show floor. In collaboration with Sony Interactive Entertainment, Pearl Abyss also used the State of Play online showcase to reveal the release dates for Crimson Desert and its first downloadable content, Charting the Unknown, for the first time. Readers can catch up on that expansion in our coverage of the Crimson Desert Charting the Unknown DLC, and on the wider show in our Tokyo Game Show 2026 recap.
Japan remains one of the most competitive markets for console games, so recognition from PlayStation carries real weight for a studio headquartered in Korea. Pearl Abyss has spent the past year building visibility through event appearances and direct collaboration with Sony, and a Players Choice nomination suggests that effort is translating into genuine playtime. A win on December 3 would give the studio a high profile endorsement heading into the next phase of its release plans.
What is Crimson Desert Enhanced
Crimson Desert is an open world action adventure developed by Pearl Abyss for console and PC platforms. The story opens with a devastating night ambush by the sworn enemies of the Greymanes, a band of fighters known as the Black Bears, an attack that leaves members of the group dead or scattered across the continent. The Greymane Kliff sets out to reunite with his surviving comrades and rebuild what was lost, and his journey leads through shifting alliances, hidden dangers and mysterious factions toward a threat and a destiny greater than he imagined.
Pearl Abyss was established in 2010 and is best known for its Black Desert franchise, the long running online role playing series built on the company proprietary engine. The studio is also developing DokeV and Plan 8 on its next generation BlackSpace Engine as it grows its audience overseas. Fans of the studio earlier work can check our Black Desert Mobile Moonlight Festival guide for a taste of how Pearl Abyss supports its live communities, the same kind of community energy that now has Crimson Desert Enhanced contending for a PlayStation award.
How do fans vote for the Players Choice Award
Fans vote on the official PlayStation Partner Awards voting page between October 29 and November 6 at 23:59 Japan time. Voting requires a PlayStation Network account, allows one vote per person and earns voters a special avatar gift at a later date.
When are the PlayStation Partner Awards winners announced
Winners in each category will be published on December 3 on the official awards site and PlayStation Blog. Sony has confirmed there is no planned livestream for the ceremony, so the winners will arrive as a published list.
How are Players Choice nominees selected
Nominees are the 30 titles released between October 1 2025 and September 30 2026 with the highest total playtime in the Japan and Asia regions. The five titles with the most fan votes win, so the shortlist reflects what players actually played rather than sales alone.
What is Crimson Desert Enhanced about
Crimson Desert Enhanced is an open world action adventure from Pearl Abyss for console and PC. Players follow Kliff of the Greymanes as he reunites his scattered comrades after an ambush by the Black Bears, crossing a continent of alliances, dangers and mysterious factions. Its first downloadable content is titled Charting the Unknown.
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