Crimson Desert could beat GTA 6 for Game of the Year, says former Red Dead Redemption 2 developer

Crimson Desert is one of 2026’s most anticipated games, and former Red Dead Redemption 2 senior animator Mike York believes it has the potential to beat GTA 6 for Game of the Year.

Reacting to Crimson Desert’s features on YouTube, York said this “could be Game of the Year, if GTA 6 drops the ball.” He also said, “If GTA 6 wasn’t here at all this year, this [Crimson Desert] would probably take Game of the Year, from what it looks like.”

York added, “This could be a really incredible game, you guys,” while reacting to the features, praising its attention to detail, including environmental physics and its wide range of mechanics.

He pointed out some inconsistencies, such as one instance in which the foliage looks “blurry and pixelated,” but he largely believes there’s a “lot of cool things going on in this game that a lot of games leave out because of how complex it is.”

Although acknowledging it remains to be seen if developer Pearl Abyss is able to successfully incorporate all of the mechanics with a good single-player story, York compared its size and ambition to that of Red Dead Redemption 2. He said, “This is really catered toward the type of person that wants to play a game like Red Dead 2,” meaning players who want “something new [and] really massive that they can explore.”

Again comparing Crimson Desert to Red Dead Redemption 2, York said, “It’s got a lot of things to do in here, [and] you can spend probably a hundred hours in this game, if not more, [and] you really get your money’s worth because of how much stuff they’ve kind of crammed into one game.”

Crimson Desert is one of many potential Game of the Year contenders

Although there is a lot of warranted hype for Crimson Desert, it’s just one of many potentially huge titles this year that could be a Game of the Year contender come December.

The biggest Game of the Year contender is easily GTA 6, assuming it meets its November 19 release date and is eligible for The Game Awards, hosted by Geoff Keighley.

However, as big as GTA 6 is expected to be, its late release will likely prevent it from beating Clair Obscur Expedition 33’s Game of the Year record of over 436 wins, as it probably won’t be eligible for some award shows, such as the Golden Joystick Awards, which typically occur around November 20.

Besides GTA 6, there’s also the highly anticipated release of Resident Evil Requiem on February 27, a title shaping up to be one of the best Resident Evil games, based on our preview. There’s also the highly anticipated Marvel’s Wolverine expected in September, as well as The Blood of Dawnwalker, an ambitious new RPG from the director of The Witcher 3.

Tomb Raider Legacy of Atlantis is also arriving in 2026, and almost every year, there’s a game that surprises everyone, with Clair Obscur Expedition 33 the most recent example.

As for Crimson Desert, if it has a good story to accompany its huge open world and activities, it could be GTA 6’s biggest competitor. The game has gone gold ahead of its March 19 release, and Pearl Abyss has confirmed there are no microtransactions at launch, which is a stark contrast to the Assassin’s Creed series.

Besides a massive list of features and an open world “at least twice as big as the playable area of Skyrim,” Crimson Desert also includes notable voice actors, such as Neil Newbon from Baldur’s Gate 3.