Crimson Desert is now somewhat playable on Intel Arc graphics cards, though Kliff's face didn't make it

A new Intel driver dropped a couple of days ago, and to the surprise of some Reddit users, it’s allowing them to play Crimson Desert. A game that was previously unable to run on Arc graphics cards and integrated GPUs.

There’s no explicit note about support for Crimson Desert in the driver update, 32.0.101.8629 WHQL, which was released on April 7. However, some Reddit users (via WCCFTech) are reporting the game does now boot and is, sometimes, playable.

Crimson desert works with the new driver from r/IntelArc

I say sometimes, as for every Redditor noting the game now works, there are a good few others saying it still doesn’t boot. Or, if it does, a character’s face or limb is missing. So it’s very much a work in progress.

We’ve given it a go here and, while it did pop up with the below error message noting that the current driver version (0.0) was not compatible and that a newer driver version (0.0) is recommended (it’s still clearly very janky), it did start compiling shaders and, eventually, worked.

Though not very well.

A bugged window when booting Crimson Desert on Intel Arc graphics cards.

(Image credit: Pearl Abyss)

Yeah, I’d probably still give this a miss if you’re waiting to play the game. Kliff’s face was missing, as were some legs, and there was some severe visual glitches throughout, as you can see in the video we grabbed below. This was captured at 1080p, medium, with no upscaling.

Look out for the visual glitch in the top left and then across the upper part of the screen. This is pretty consistent throughout our brief time with the game on an Arc B580.

But it did boot. So that’s something?

If it simply does not boot whatsoever post-driver updated, a few users suggest deleting the game’s config file, if such a thing exists, prior to booting it up again. This is located in the AppData/Local/PearlAbyss/CD/save folder.

It’s a surprising development, as while Crimson Desert developer Pearl Abyss has, since the game’s release, said it would work on supporting Intel GPUs, it also suggested this may take some time. Intel also came out with a statement noting that it is open to assisting the cause with any help it can offer to get things running smoothly.

Crimson Desert's main character, Kliff, with a visual glitch on his face.

(Image credit: Pearl Abyss)

Whatever has happened with the latest driver appears to slightly solve the issue on a driver level, but not on the game side. Indeed, the Crimson Desert FAQ still reads the same as it did on March 23:

“Regarding Crimson Desert support for Intel Arc: We are currently working on compatibility and optimization support so that Crimson Desert can also be enjoyed on Intel Arc GPU systems. We are preparing to provide a smooth and stable gameplay experience, and we ask for your patience until the support update becomes available. We apologize for any confusion our previous FAQ wording regarding playability on Intel Arc GPUs may have caused. Please regard this as our latest official news on the subject.”

Prior to the March 23 update, Pearl Abyss had recommended that owners of Intel Arc graphics cards seek a refund rather than wait for the game to support their choice of GPU. When booting the game, Arc owners are shown a pop-up that notes their card is not supported.

So, while it may be best to wait for an official patch from the game’s developer before diving in, this does at least show that something is happening to allow Arc owners to enjoy Crimson Desert. Let’s hope proper support isn’t far behind.