Crimson Desert: How to Play the Free Twitch Browser Demo

Crimson Desert can now be tried without buying it, installing it, or leaving your web browser. Pearl Abyss has put a free 20-minute cloud demo on Twitch, streamed through Amazon GameLift Streams, so you can drop into the continent of Pywel as Kliff and test the combat before deciding whether to purchase the full game.

Quick answer: Open twitch.tv/gl/crimsondesert in a desktop browser, tick the age consent box, click Start Demo, wait for the connection, then hold the Spacebar for a few seconds to begin your 20 minutes of gameplay.

What you need before starting

Because the demo runs in the cloud, there is nothing to download and no separate client to set up. You do need a desktop web browser and a stable internet connection, since the game is being streamed rather than run on your own hardware. Performance and visual quality can shift depending on your region and connection speed.

Note: The keyboard controls are mapped for a QWERTY layout. If you use a different layout, the inputs may not line up with the on-screen prompts.

How to start the Crimson Desert demo on Twitch

Open the dedicated Twitch landing page for the game in a desktop browser. You can go straight to it below.

Open the Crimson Desert demo

On the page, you will see two choices. One takes you to buy the game on Steam; the other lets you launch the trial. Tick the age consent checkbox, then click Start Demo.

Wait through the short connection process while the cloud session sets up. Once it finishes, you are dropped into the demo screen.

When prompted, hold the Spacebar for a few seconds to enter the game. The moment gameplay begins, the 20-minute timer starts counting down.

What happens when the 20 minutes end

The timer runs for a single 20-minute session. When it expires, or if you exit the demo yourself, you will see a thank-you notification along with a prompt to buy the game on Steam, currently offered with a 20% discount. From that same screen, you can also wishlist the game instead of purchasing it right away.

You know the trial is over when the gameplay stops, and the purchase prompt appears in place of the game view. It is possible to restart the demo from the landing page if you want another run.

Where the demo is available

The promotion is aimed primarily at players in a few regions, though it has been reported to work in some other countries as well. Availability can change, so if the demo does not load, your region may not be supported at that moment.

Detail	Value
Primary regions	United States, Canada, United Kingdom
Session length	20 minutes
Cost	Free, no download
Streaming tech	Amazon GameLift Streams via Twitch
Full game platforms	PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X\|S, PC (Steam)

Crimson Desert follows Kliff, a warrior of the Greymanes, as he works to reunite a fractured faction and reclaim their homeland across Pywel. The trial gives you a short window to test the open-world traversal and combat firsthand, then move to the Steam page if you decide the full release is worth buying.