Crimson Desert’s Charting the Unknown DLC adds the ocean, romance and castles on Oct. 29

Date, time and price

Charting the Unknown launches on Thursday, October 29, at 3 p.m. PT / 6 p.m. ET (22:00 UTC) on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Steam and the Epic Games Store. It’s $24.99 on Steam; Pearl Abyss hasn’t listed pricing for the PlayStation Store or Microsoft Store. Pre-orders are open and include a diving set for Kliff and Oongka and a light diving set for Damiane.

The DLC was originally due on October 15, but Pearl Abyss delayed it by two weeks in late September to deliver “a more polished and stable gameplay experience”. The studio has also warned that, following a review of content and age rating requirements, it won’t be available in certain markets, which it didn’t name, and that pre-orders there are being closed. It also won’t be on the Mac App Store at launch.

The base game, Crimson Desert, launched on March 19, 2026 on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC and Mac. Since August 25 it has been presented as Crimson Desert Enhanced, the name of its free 2.00.00 update, which added new cutscenes and Spanish voice-over, among other languages.

Three stories and an ocean to explore

The DLC adds a new story for each protagonist, Kliff, Oongka and Damiane, which can be started from the Journal after finishing the main story. Separately, an ocean-focused storyline unlocks earlier, once you complete “Howling Hill”.

That storyline leads to the Great Ocean of Pywel, a new region with its own islands. To sail it you need a ship, either by sending comrades on a shipbuilding dispatch at a port or by buying one from a Fleet Office manager, and you can customize it. On the islands you can defeat enemy forces and set up strongholds with the Greymanes. All three characters can also dive with no prerequisites to explore underwater ruins, chests, creatures and mounts, though staying under consumes breath, so gear like a diving suit helps.

Romance, custom houses and castles

The other big focus is life in Pywel. By earning the trust of certain characters, the protagonists can start romances and even get married, and once the Greymane Camp is upgraded to a certain level, close friends will drop by to spend time together.

Housing is expanded too: beyond decorating, you can design your home from the ground up, placing walls, windows and other structural elements. It requires setting up camp at Howling Hill and completing Luke’s Request in the “Grounds of the Sunrise” faction quest. And after completing the main story and related quests, you can liberate three specific castles and claim them as your own, decorating their courtyards and interiors.

Businesses and the Garden of Trials

For those who prefer management, the DLC lets you rent and run businesses, from a restaurant in Vellua to a smithy at Zargan Tankworks: assign comrades and equipment, choose which goods to sell and grow each business’s recognition and profits. They’re accessed from the world map after completing the faction quest that liberates the relevant region and setting up the Greymane Camp.

For fighters, there’s the Garden of Trials, a challenge that pits you against bosses from across the adventure one after another, with special rewards. It unlocks after the main questline. Pearl Abyss says more details will come in the patch notes on launch day.