Developers describe a company mired in "toxic positivity." According to them, the studio resembles an inverted pyramid, where there are more managers than actual creators, and only "yes-men" who never question the decisions of the top brass can hope for promotion. This work culture has completely silenced critical voices within the team, which directly affected the game's problems.
Chaos in management led to key elements of Crimson Desert, such as the story, not being approved until almost the moment of release. The creators admitted that the original script, a story about the struggle for the throne and the resources of the crimson desert, was almost completely thrown out when people from the art departments took over management, putting aesthetics above logic.
That is precisely why there is so little actual desert in the final product. Instead of a refined vision, players received a set of mechanics mindlessly copied from other hit titles. For example, sky islands in the spirit of Zelda were added in a rush simply because they "looked cool."
The employees' main accusations:
- Management arrogance: mockery of competitors (for example, God of War was called a "beautiful hollow shell") without understanding the depth of those games.
- Lack of vision: the protagonist's name was changed from Macbeth to Kliff at the last moment, and key supporting characters were removed.
- A culture of fear: fear of a "witch hunt" and the search for scapegoats on whom management would shift the blame for mistakes in management and storytelling.
Developers admit that, as they watch complaints from players and reviewers, they feel bitter irony: these are the very same problems they reported to management months ago, but for which they were forced into silence. The project "went off the rails" because of a lack of mutual trust and a painful desire to implement everything that is trendy on YouTube.