Crimson Desert Dev Hints at Major DLC Release

Pearl Abyss director of marketing and PR Will Powers has revealed that plans for an upcoming DLC for Crimson Desert, which will be “different” from all of the updates released for the game so far. Crimson Desert is already an absolutely enormous game in its scale, so it’s exciting to think that it could be about to get even bigger.

Since its release back in March, developer Pearl Abyss has already released numerous Crimson Desert updates. It’s notable that these updates aren’t just small bug fixes – rather, the developer is still adding new features to the game on a regular basis, ensuring that it’s the best RPG it can possibly be. It’s already a massive improvement over the launch version of Crimson Desert, and there is no indication that this level of support will stop any time soon.

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Crimson Desert Dev Says Upcoming DLC Will Be Different From Updates So Far

Director of marketing and PR for Pearl Abyss, Will Powers, spoke to IGN at Summer Game Fest 2026, where he was asked about the upcoming Crimson Desert DLC. Powers reiterated the important difference between phrases like “update,” “DLC,” and “expansion,” claiming, “What we’ve called everything we’ve done and added to the game right now has been updates. We’re calling this upcoming project a DLC, so this will be different from all the updates we’ve had after the game launched… We’re calling it something different, and there’s a good reason why we’re calling it a DLC.”

Who’s That Character?

Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.

Who’s That Character?

Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.

Easy (7.5s)Medium (5.0s)Hard (2.5s)Permadeath (2.5s)

It’s notable that Powers highlights the difference between DLC and an expansion, as it gives players a better expectation of scale for future content. Looking at the game’s post-launch content, there have been new features added, but not enough to actually sell to players in the form of DLC. But an expansion implies something huge, bigger than DLC, which may add a few new areas and quests for players to complete. So with the upcoming Crimson Desert content planned to be DLC, players should expect something substantial, if not quite enormous.

We’re calling this upcoming project a DLC, so this will be different from all the updates we’ve had after the game launched.

Hints of Crimson Desert DLC have been appearing for a few months now, so it’s of little surprise to see Pearl Abyss tackle the subject directly and confirm it’s on the way. However, there is still indication from the developer on what the DLC will actually entail, so it will be interesting to see what direction it heads with its massive open-world RPG.

Build your perfect top ten one reveal at a time.

Although Crimson Desert‘s post-launch support has already been excellent, there is some indication that it could continue for a very long time yet. Recently, Pearl Abyss promised to support Crimson Desert for as long as there is community demand. Given that the game remains extremely popular and retains very high player counts daily, there’s no sign that community demand for more content is waning. If anything, it’s this stream of new content that keeps players coming back for more.