Pearl Abyss Accused of Sending False DMCA Notices as Pirates Add Crimson Desert Developer to Blacklist

The controversy began with a November 12 announcement from moderators of the piracy-focused Reddit community CrackWatch. In the post, moderator EssenseOfMagic accused Pearl Abyss of joining what the community called the “false DMCA claim mafia,” alongside Sony, 2K, and Microsoft. The moderator claimed copyright notices had targeted previous releases from the studio as well.

However, these claims come from the community, and Pearl Abyss has not publicly confirmed or addressed the allegations in the available reporting.

In response, CrackWatch introduced new posting requirements for Pearl Abyss games. Users are no longer allowed to include the full names of piracy groups in relevant post titles. Instead, they must use abbreviated labels, such as “C-S,” to identify releases.

Moderators warned that posts failing to follow the revised rules could be removed and submitted again with compliant titles. The changes do not mean CrackWatch is banning discussion of Pearl Abyss games.

The dispute also draws attention to Crimson Desert Enhanced, whose PC version uses Denuvo anti-tamper technology. The community’s announcement follows reports of attempts to bypass that protection.