If you’re a fan of sprawling open-world RPGs with deep combat and immersive lore, you’ve almost certainly had Crimson Desert on your radar for years. Pearl Abyss’s follow-up to the hit Black Desert Online promises a gritty, single-player focused experience with optional co-op, custom character progression, and a massive world to explore across the war-torn continent of Pywel. If you plan to play on Sony’s latest console, navigating the crimson desert pre order ps5 options can feel overwhelming at first, with multiple editions, retailer-exclusive perks, and hidden fine print to watch for. This guide breaks down everything you need to know to make the right choice for your budget and play style.
What Crimson Desert Pre Order PS5 Editions Are Available?
The first thing you’ll notice when browsing pre order listings is three distinct editions available for PS5 players, each with different perks and price points. Standard Edition is the most affordable option, retailing for $69.99, and includes the full base game plus all universal pre order bonuses we’ll cover later. It’s the best pick for casual players who don’t care about extra cosmetic or physical content, and just want to play the game on launch day.
Deluxe Edition costs $89.99, and adds a set of exclusive character costumes, a rare permanent mount, a digital artbook with 100+ pages of concept art, and the full official game soundtrack. The mount in particular gives you a 20% faster movement speed than the default starting mount, which saves a ton of time during early game exploration. You also get 72 hours of early access to the game before the official launch date, so you can start playing before most other players.
Collector’s Edition is the premium physical option, priced at $149.99, which includes all Deluxe digital content plus a 12-inch statue of the main character, a steelbook case, a cloth map of Pywel, and a set of 3 enamel pins tied to the game’s core factions. That means if you only care about in-game content, the Deluxe Edition is the best value, while the Collector’s Edition is only worth the splurge if you collect physical game merch. Stock for the Collector’s Edition is extremely limited, so you’ll want to act fast if you want to secure one.
Exclusive Pre Order Bonuses You Won’t Get After Launch
No matter which edition you pick, all pre orders come with a set of universal bonuses that will not be available for purchase after the game launches. These perks are designed to reward early adopters, and they add a lot of quality of life upgrades for your first playthrough. The full list of universal pre order bonuses includes:
You don't have to buy a premium edition to get these base pre order bonuses, even standard edition pre orders get all four of the perks listed above. Some third-party retailers also offer extra exclusive bonuses for pre ordering through their store, so it’s worth checking different listings before you buy. For example, GameStop offers an exclusive iron-on patch set, while Amazon gives a free physical copy of the Pywel map with all pre orders. These retailer-specific perks are usually limited to the first 10,000 pre orders, so you’ll want to check early if you care about extra swag.
One thing to note: the in-game bonuses are tied to your PSN account, so you don’t have to worry about losing them if you cancel and re-pre order through a different retailer, as long as you use the same account. You will have to link your Pearl Abyss account to your PSN account to claim the bonuses, but that process only takes a minute and you can do it before launch to skip the rush on release day.
Is Pre Ordering Crimson Desert on PS5 Worth It For You?
This is the question most players ask before putting down money for a game they haven’t played yet, and the answer depends entirely on your personal preferences and play habits. If you’re a long-time fan of Pearl Abyss’s work, you’ve been following Crimson Desert’s development for years, and you know you want to play it on day one, pre ordering is 100% worth it. You get free extra content, early access if you buy Deluxe, and you don’t have to worry about stock shortages close to launch.
If you’re on the fence about the game, you still don’t have to write off pre ordering entirely. PSN pre orders come with a full refund policy up to 14 days after release if you haven't downloaded and played more than 2 hours of the game, so you can pre order now to lock in the bonuses, and if reviews are bad or you don’t like the game when you try it, you can get a full refund with no hassle. That removes almost all the risk of pre ordering, even if you’re not 100% sure you’ll love the game.
On the other hand, if you rarely play games on launch day, you usually wait for sales or updates to fix bugs, or you don’t care about exclusive cosmetic content, there’s no reason to pre order. You can pick up the game a few weeks or months after launch for the same price, or even cheaper if there’s a sale, and the only thing you’ll miss is the pre order bonus content. The Pioneer armor set is only useful for the first 15 hours of the game anyway, so you won’t be at a huge disadvantage if you buy later.
Another small perk of pre ordering is pre loading, which starts 3 days before the official launch date. Crimson Desert is expected to be around 75GB on PS5, so pre loading lets you download the entire game ahead of time, so you can start playing the second it goes live instead of waiting hours for the download to finish on launch day. That’s a big plus if you have a slow internet connection, or if you plan to play right when the game comes out.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Pre Ordering Crimson Desert for PS5
Even though the pre order process is pretty straightforward, there are a few common mistakes that players make that can cost them money or make them miss out on bonuses. The first mistake is buying the wrong edition. Don’t splurge on the Collector’s Edition if you don’t care about physical merch, because the digital content is exactly the same as the Deluxe Edition, and you’re paying $60 extra for items you might not even want. Take 5 minutes to look at what’s included in each edition before you buy, so you don’t waste money on content you don’t need.
The second mistake is buying the wrong version of the game. Some retailers list both the PS4 and PS5 versions of Crimson Desert side by side, and it’s easy to accidentally pick the PS4 version if you’re not paying attention. Always double check that you're purchasing the PS5 native version, not the PS4 backward compatible version, because the PS5 version has exclusive features like 4K 60FPS gameplay, 3D audio support, DualSense haptic feedback, and much faster load times that the PS4 version doesn’t have. You don’t want to pay full price for a worse version of the game by accident.
The third mistake is forgetting to use your PS Plus discount if you have an active subscription. PS Plus members get 10% off all digital pre orders on the PlayStation Store, which saves you $7 on the Standard Edition and $9 on the Deluxe Edition. That’s free money you’re leaving on the table if you don’t apply the discount before checking out. The discount is automatically applied at checkout if you’re signed into your PS Plus account, but it’s worth double checking to make sure it shows up before you pay.
The last common mistake is pre ordering from a region outside your own to get early access. Some players try to pre order from regions where the game launches 12 hours early, but the PS5-exclusive dynamic theme and avatars are region locked, so you won’t be able to use them on your main account if you buy from a different region. It’s not worth missing out on those perks just to play a few hours early, so stick to pre orders from your own region’s store.
At the end of the day, the crimson desert pre order ps5 process is straightforward once you know what editions and bonuses fit your budget and play style. If you’re hyped to explore the war-torn world of Pywel on day one, locking in your pre order early will get you extra content and peace of mind that you have a copy secured, even if stock runs low close to launch. If you’re still unsure, you can always wait for launch day reviews to make your call, but you will miss out on the exclusive pre order perks if you do. Either way, Crimson Desert is shaping up to be one of the most ambitious open world RPGs of the decade, so PS5 players have a lot to look forward to.