Pearl Abyss has yet to properly reveal its in-development Crimson Desert DLC, but whatever shape it ends up taking will supposedly be very different to the base game.
The massive open-world romp has welcomed an almost unbelievable amount of post-launch content since it came out in March, with near weekly updates adding everything from boss replays, new abilities, a full-fledged pet system with 100 fluffy friends to register, more cool mounts, a Pinball mini-game, a gun (yes, a gun), and so much more. But that’s all free. What about the upcoming DLC?
Pearl Abyss’ PR and marketing lead Will Powers spoke about the unnamed expansion in an interview with The Gamer, where he teases it’ll be “substantively different, whether it’s in scope, scale, size, it’ll be different” to the base game. “What it means beyond that, we’re not talking about yet.” Alright then, Powers, keep your secrets.
Speaking on the developer’s stunning pace of updates, Powers explains the patch cadence comes from Pearl Abyss’ experience working on MMO Black Desert, which also received frequent support, as is customary for the genre. “The DNA of the company is inherently live service,” he says. “So, although this is a single-player game, that doesn’t change the core identity of who the developers are and how they want to support the community.”
Pearl Abyss isn’t done with free updates while it chips away at its big DLC plans, however. Earlier this month, the developer released a roadmap of everything it wants to add to the game between now and September, including cross-save support and tweaks to “further strengthen the narrative flow of Kliff’s journey.”
Yet to play Pearl Abyss’s massive open-world game? You can check out our Crimson Desert review to find out why it’s one of the most popular new games for 2026.
