[Digital Today reporter Hojeong Lee] Pearl Abyss' new title "Crimson Desert" ranked fifth on Steam's most popular games chart 10 days ahead of its official release.

Steam's PC gaming platform showed the game ranked fifth on the global most popular games chart as of Monday morning. The chart is calculated based on sales and player activity trends on the platform.

The ranking is drawing attention because it was achieved during a competitive period for new releases. It comes as major new titles formed the top tier, including the indie game "Slay the Spire 2," released on March 6 and ranked first; Sony Interactive Entertainment's (SIE) new title "Marathon"; and Capcom's "Biohazard Requiem," released at the end of last month.

By country, it ranked third in South Korea, fourth in Germany, fifth in the United States, seventh in Russia and ninth in Japan and China.

Crimson Desert is scheduled for a simultaneous worldwide release on March 20, and pre-orders are under way. It supports multiple platforms including PC (Steam and Mac), PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and GeForce Now, and applies Pearl Abyss' in-house 3D engine, the "BlackSpace Engine."