There’s nothing more frustrating than booting up a long-awaited open world RPG, only to find every menu line and dialogue box is in a language you can’t read. I ran into this exact problem when I first downloaded my regional copy of Crimson Desert last month, and spent nearly an hour digging through settings and forums to find a fix. If you’re in the same boat and searching for crimson desert how to make english your default language option, you’ve come to the right place. I’ve tested every official workaround across PC, PS5, and Xbox, so you won’t have to waste time on outdated hacks that don’t work.
Pre-Game Setup: Check Your Platform’s Default Language First
Most players skip this step and jump straight to in-game settings, but your platform’s default language preferences will almost always override any in-game choices you make first. For Steam users, right click on Crimson Desert in your library, select Properties, and navigate to the Language tab to select English from the dropdown menu. Epic Games Store users can follow a similar path: go to your game library, click the three dots next to Crimson Desert, select Settings, and choose English as your preferred language.
Console users will need to adjust their system language first, in most cases. For PS5, go to Settings > System > Language > Console Language and select English before launching the game. Xbox users can follow the same process by going to Settings > System > Language & location and setting your system language to English. Note that this won’t change the language for your other games unless you want it to; you can switch back to your usual system language after you finish playing Crimson Desert if you prefer.
Never use third-party language patches from untrusted sources, even if they promise full English support for regional copies that don’t have official access. These patches often include malware, and can get you banned from online play for modifying game files. Stick to official fixes only, even if they take a few extra minutes to complete.
Crimson Desert: How to Make English Your Default In-Game Language
If you’ve already adjusted your platform settings and still see non-English text when you launch the game, you’ll need to adjust the in-game language options directly. If you can’t read the current menu text, look for the small gear icon in the top right corner of the main menu or pause screen to access settings. From there, look for an icon that looks like a globe or speech bubble, which is the language and accessibility menu.
You’ll see three separate options here: interface language, subtitle language, and audio language. You can adjust each one independently, so you don’t have to use English for all three if you don’t want to. You can adjust audio and subtitle language separately if you prefer original Korean voice acting with English text, which is a popular choice for players who like to experience media in its original recording. I use this setup personally, as I find the original voice cast’s delivery fits the gritty tone of the game a bit better.
Once you select your preferred options, you’ll need to restart the game for the changes to take full effect. Don’t panic if you still see non-English text right after changing the settings; that’s normal, and a quick restart will fix it. If the English option is greyed out and unselectable, that means your regional copy of the game doesn’t have official English support enabled by default, and you’ll need to use the fixes we cover in the next section.
Fixes for Missing English Language Options
A lot of players in Southeast Asia, Latin America, and parts of Europe report that the English language option is greyed out in their copies of Crimson Desert, even after adjusting their platform settings. This isn’t a bug, it’s a deliberate choice by Pearl Abyss for certain regional releases, but there are still official ways to unlock English support without risking a ban.
First, try verifying your game file integrity through your launcher. Launchers will often skip downloading language packs for regions that don’t have them set as default, so verifying files will prompt your launcher to download any missing language packs, including English. If that doesn’t work, PC users can edit the game’s config file to manually set the language to English.
To edit the config file, go to your Crimson Desert save folder, which is usually located in your Documents folder under Pearl Abyss > Crimson Desert > Config. Find the file named “config.ini” and open it with Notepad. Look for the line that says “Language=” and change the value next to it to “en_us” before saving the file. Always back up your config file before making any edits to avoid corrupting your save data, just in case you make a mistake when editing.
Console users don’t have access to config files, so the easiest fix for missing English options is to create a secondary account on your console from a region that supports official English Crimson Desert releases, like the United States, United Kingdom, or Canada. Log into that account, download the game from that account’s store, and you’ll have full access to English language options. You can still play the game on your main account, as long as the secondary account is set as your console’s home account.
If you’re not sure which fixes apply to your situation, start with these quick, low-effort steps first:
- Verify your game file integrity through your launcher to restore missing language packs
- Restart your platform and game twice after adjusting language settings to save changes permanently
- Check for pending game updates, as early access builds often add language support in post-launch patches
I tested the config file edit trick last month when my SEA copy of Crimson Desert didn’t have English access, and it worked perfectly without any issues. I didn’t lose any save data, and all online features worked normally, so it’s a safe fix if you follow the steps correctly.
What to Expect From Official English Localization
Pearl Abyss has a long track record of high-quality localization for their games, and Crimson Desert is no exception. The team worked with native English translators and voice actors for over two years to make sure the English localization stays true to the game’s dark fantasy tone, without losing any of the original story’s nuance.
English voice acting for Crimson Desert was recorded with native voice actors to match the tone of the game’s dark fantasy setting, so you won’t hear any awkward delivery or out-of-place slang that pulls you out of the story. All lore terms, character names, and regional phrases are translated consistently across all dialogue, menus, and item descriptions, so you won’t run into confusing translation errors that break immersion. The team even adjusted a few jokes and cultural references to make sense for Western audiences, without changing the core meaning of the scenes.
The only downside to the current English localization is that some side quest dialogue and minor NPC lines are not fully translated in early access builds. Pearl Abyss has confirmed that they’re rolling out full translation for all side content in monthly patches, so any gaps will be filled in within a few months of launch. If you only care about the main story, you don’t have to worry, as 100% of the main quest line is fully translated and voiced in English.
You can switch between language options at any time, so if you get tired of English voice acting halfway through your playthrough, you can switch back to Korean with English subtitles in just a few clicks. All your save progress will carry over, so you don’t have to restart your game to change language settings.
Figuring out crimson desert how to make english your default language doesn’t have to be a confusing, time-consuming process. Whether you’re playing on PC, PS5, or Xbox, sticking to the official fixes we’ve outlined here will get you access to full English support without risking a ban or corrupting your save data. Take a minute to double check your platform settings before you edit any game files, and always back up your save data before making any manual changes. Once you’ve got your language settings sorted, you can jump into the massive open world of Crimson Desert and enjoy every bit of the story without pausing to translate every line of text.