Crimson Desert won the award for Best Overseas Game at ChinaJoy 26

Pearl Abyss announced that Crimson Desert took the "Best Overseas Game" prize at the China Game Innovation Awards 2026, an event running alongside ChinaJoy. CGIA has been held for six years; its evaluations lean on originality and technical skill, and the judges pay attention to artistic direction too — though that hardly sums up the vibe a player actually gets. The "Best Overseas Game" distinction goes to foreign projects that show notable advances in how a game plays, how it’s built, and how it looks on screen; Crimson Desert had already earned a nod for technical innovation at the British Develop Star Awards, so this felt like a continuation rather than an outlier.

Pearl Abyss is actively expanding in China: separate booths at Bilibili World and last year’s China Joy, plus added Chinese voice acting and subtitles to make immersion more immediate — esp. during story-heavy moments. This year the studio partnered with TCL to demo combat mechanics and the open world at TCL’s booth, and held meetings with local media and partners (e.g., streamers and press). I’ll admit, the push feels deliberate and worth watching rather than merely routine.