- Pearl Abyss confirms Crimson Desert DLC will arrive in 2026, in latest financial report
- Pearl Abyss continues to provide consistent updates and additions based on player feedback
- Details on the DLC’s content aren’t clear just yet, but more will be revealed in Q3 of 2026
Pearl Abyss seemingly won’t rest until Crimson Desert is at its absolute best, with never-ending updates adding new features or fixes — and unsurprisingly, it won’t stop there.
In its latest financial report, Pearl Abyss confirmed that Crimson Desert‘s DLC is currently under development and scheduled for release in 2026, while it continues to “refine its content direction and overall quality”. There are no details on the DLC’s content yet, but Pearl Abyss plans to announce it in the third quarter of 2026.
This comes amid Pearl Abyss’ highlight of all the important updates and major additions it’s made for Crimson Desert since the game’s March 19 launch. There’s no doubt that the action-adventure game has been a massive success, selling over six million copies and retaining a high player count on Steam months after its arrival.
Frankly, it’s quite hard to predict what Crimson Desert‘s DLC will include, since it’s a game that is already full of near-endless amounts of content. However, it’s an opportunity for developers at Pearl Abyss to craft new elements based on player feedback (and perhaps even some mods).
What do we want to see in an expansion?
Customization is a crucial aspect of the entire experience, both in terms of character appearance and gear. There’s a strong chance that Pearl Abyss is set to deliver a story expansion, so it’s hard to pinpoint what new additions await players.
However, based on my 240 hours of playtime and some of the mods I’ve used, it would be great to see the developers utilize their character creation skills and allow players to make a custom character.
The previous game, Black Desert (which is solely an MMO), arguably has some of the best character creation in any video game to date. While Crimson Desert does have an extensive amount of customization, with Kliff, Damiane, and Oongka having multiple hairstyle and facial hair options, it doesn’t come close to what players can do in Pearl Abyss’ MMO.
It’s an optimistic suggestion and task for developers, but with how ambitious Crimson Desert is, and the fact that users have made custom character creator mods online, it would be a strong addition to the experience.
Multiplayer is also on the cards for Pearl Abyss, but that’s certainly not expected in this first DLC, as it states, “integrating multiplayer functionality is far more complex than simply adding a new game mode”, but highlights that there’s “significant potential” for it.
Whatever it is Pearl Abyss is developing behind the scenes will likely be a surprise, if recent additions to the game are anything to go by, and I’m looking forward to it.
