There’s nothing more frustrating than booting up a new open-world RPG you’ve been waiting months for, only to find all the menus, dialogue, and subtitles are in a language you don’t speak. That’s a common pain point for new Crimson Desert players, especially if you purchased a copy from a regional storefront that defaults to the local language. Figuring out crimson desert how to change language doesn’t have to require digging through old forum threads or guessing what each menu option means, though. This guide covers every platform, common bug fixes, and hidden localization settings you might miss on your first try.
Step-by-Step Process for Crimson Desert How to Change Language by Platform
The process varies slightly depending on what device you’re playing on, but all versions let you adjust language settings either in-game or through your platform’s library menu. We’ve broken down steps for every supported platform so you don’t have to guess which button to press next. Even if you can’t read any of the on-screen text right now, the icon-based cues will help you navigate to the right menu.
For PC players using Steam: If you can access the main menu, look for the Settings cog icon on the top right corner of the home screen. Select the Localization tab, which is marked with a globe icon so you can spot it even if you can’t read the menu text. You’ll see three separate dropdowns: one for display text, one for subtitle language, and one for voiceover audio. Pick your preferred option for each, hit confirm changes, and restart the game if prompted. If you can’t get past the initial launch screen because of the language barrier, right click Crimson Desert in your Steam library, select Properties, navigate to the Language tab, and pick your desired language. Steam will automatically download the required language pack the next time you launch the game.
For PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 players: The easiest method is to set your console’s system language to your preferred option first, then launch the game. Crimson Desert automatically pulls your system language settings by default, so you won’t have to adjust anything in-game unless you want a different language specifically for the game. If you want to change language only for Crimson Desert, launch the game, head to the settings menu, select the globe icon, and pick your desired language from the list. Save your changes and restart the game to apply them.
For Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One players: Similar to PlayStation, the game will default to your system language first. To adjust only for Crimson Desert, go to My Games & Apps, highlight the game, press the Menu button on your controller, select Manage Game & Add-ons, then open Language Options. Pick your preferred language from the list, install the language pack if prompted, and launch the game to see the changes. Note that voiceover options are more limited than text options across all platforms – as of the latest update, only English, Korean, Japanese, and Mandarin have full native voice acting support.
Common Language Change Issues and Quick Fixes
Even if you follow the steps perfectly, you might run into small glitches that stop your language settings from sticking. These are all common, minor issues with simple fixes that take less than two minutes to complete. You don’t have to reinstall the entire game to fix most of these problems, so don’t jump to that option first.
The most common issue is language settings reverting back to the default every time you restart the game. This almost always happens because your platform’s default language for the game doesn’t match the in-game setting you picked. To fix it, adjust both the in-game localization settings and the language settings in your Steam/console library to the same option, then restart the game one more time. The settings will stick after that.
Another frequent problem is garbled text or missing dialogue boxes after you change languages. This happens when the language pack didn’t download fully, or some files got corrupted during installation. For PC players, verify the integrity of your game files through Steam to redownload any missing language pack files. For console players, delete the existing language pack for Crimson Desert in your manage game menu, then redownload it fresh.
If subtitles won’t change even after you adjust the setting, that’s a known small bug that the devs are working to fix in a future patch. To get around it, turn subtitles off completely in the settings menu, save your changes, restart the game, then turn subtitles back on and select your desired language. That works 99% of the time. Before you try any fixes, run through these quick pre-checks to rule out simple causes:
- Confirm your platform has the latest Crimson Desert patch installed, as older versions had limited language support for certain regions
- Make sure you have at least 2GB of free storage on your device to download any required language packs
- Log into the same profile you used to purchase and launch the game, to avoid permission issues for setting changes
Don’t uninstall the game to fix language issues unless support explicitly tells you to. It’s a waste of bandwidth and time, and almost never fixes the root of the problem.
Customizing Localization Settings Beyond Basic Language Swap
Most players change their language setting and leave the localization tab immediately, but there are a ton of useful hidden settings there that can make your playthrough way more enjoyable. You don’t have to stick to the default setup – you can tweak almost every part of the game’s localization to fit your preferences.
One of the most popular customization options is mixing and matching voice and text languages. A lot of players prefer to have original Korean voice acting for immersion, but English text so they can follow the story easily. The game lets you set separate languages for voice, display text, and subtitles, so you can mix and match however you want. You don’t have to use the same language for all three.
Closed caption options are also available in the same localization tab, for hard of hearing players or anyone who wants extra context for in-game sounds. The closed captions include speaker labels, sound effect cues for off-screen actions, and text descriptions of background noise during cutscenes. You can also adjust subtitle size, color, and background opacity right in the same menu, so you don’t have to squint at small text during fast-paced cutscenes or combat sequences.
Many language learners use Crimson Desert as a fun practice tool, too. You can set your display text to the language you’re learning, and subtitles to your native language, so you can pick up new vocabulary as you play. It’s a low-pressure way to practice, and the contextual dialogue makes it easier to remember new words than flashcards alone. If you do this, turn on the slow dialogue option in the accessibility menu to give yourself more time to read the text before it disappears.
What to Do If Your Preferred Language Isn't Supported
As of the latest update, Crimson Desert supports 14 text languages and 4 voiceover languages, but there are still dozens of regional languages that haven’t been added yet. If your preferred language isn’t on the list, you have a few safe options to get support, no mods required.
First, head to the official Crimson Desert community forums and submit a language support request. The devs regularly poll players for requested features, and language support is one of the most common requests they get. If enough players ask for your language, it will likely be added in a future content patch. The devs already added 3 new text languages in the last major update, so they’re actively expanding support based on player demand.
Never download language packs from untrusted sources, even if they claim to add support for your missing language. Third-party translation mods can trigger the game’s anti-cheat system, which will get you permanently banned from online play modes. They also often contain malware, or can corrupt your game files so badly you have to reinstall the entire thing. There are no officially supported fan translation packs right now, so any third-party option comes with major risks.
If you just need help navigating menus until official support is added, you can use real-time screen translation tools for PC that overlay translated text on top of the game window. These tools don’t modify any game files, so they won’t trigger anti-cheat flags, and they work well for basic menu navigation. They won’t translate cutscene dialogue or dynamic in-game text, but they’re a good temporary fix if you just need to get through the initial setup process.
At the end of the day, figuring out crimson desert how to change language is a quick process once you know where to look, whether you’re playing on PC, PlayStation, or Xbox. Don’t let a default language setting ruin your first playthrough of this massive open-world RPG – take a minute to adjust the localization settings to fit your preferences, and you’ll have a much more immersive experience. If you run into any issues that aren’t covered here, you can always reach out to the official support team for help, but most problems are fixed with the simple steps we covered above.