Quick answer: Crimson Desert’s first paid expansion, Charting the Unknown, is out now for $24.99 on PC (Steam, Epic Games Store, Steam on Mac), PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. Diving works right away with no unlock, while ships, the ocean, castles and free-build housing open up after specific story quests. Back up first: saves made with the DLC cannot be loaded on a version of the game without it.
Pearl Abyss released Charting the Unknown on October 29 at 3 PM PT (5 PM CT, 6 PM ET), alongside the free 2.04.00 update. It takes Kliff, Oongka and Damiane out to sea with ships, underwater exploration, uncharted islands, marriage, castles you can rule and a new combat challenge. Here is what it costs, what you need to unlock each feature, and the one save warning to know before you buy.
Price and platforms
- Price: $24.99 on Steam, the PlayStation Store and Xbox.
- Platforms: PC (Steam, Epic Games Store, Steam on Mac), PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. Pearl Abyss says the Mac App Store version is coming later.
- How to buy in game: choose “Buy DLC” on the title screen.
- Pre-order bonus: the Charter’s Diving Set for Kliff and Oongka and the Charter’s Light Diving Set for Damiane.
Mac players on Steam or the App Store need a one-time full download with the update. The expansion is not available in some regions; Pearl Abyss said on October 30 that it has been approved for Saudi Arabia and will go on sale there soon.
How to unlock every new feature
| Feature | How to unlock it |
|---|---|
| Diving | No conditions. Watch the breath gauge, refine your diving suit for more air, and eat breath food. |
| Ocean quest “A Wider World” | Finish “Howling Hill” and set up the Greymane camp, then reach the required level. |
| Ships | Complete the questline that follows the Howling Hill camp. Build a ship through a port dispatch mission or buy one from a fleetmaster. |
| Kliff, Oongka and Damiane stories | Open from the Journal after clearing “Journey’s End”. |
| Free Construction housing | Finish “Luke’s Request” at Grounds of the Sunrise plus the Howling Hill camp, then go to Home Decoration, Layout, Free Construction. |
| Drakesfall Castle | Clear “Journey’s End” and liberate the castle. |
| Flame Knight’s Castle | Finish Damiane’s “Politician” quest and liberate the castle. |
| Garden of Trials | After “Journey’s End”, near the Axiom Archive Abyss. |
Ships, the sea and uncharted islands
Once you have a ship, you can customize its parts in Demeniss and Delesyia, fight with ship cannons and run maritime trades between ports. Uncharted islands open through pioneering missions, and treasure maps lead you to hidden loot. Underwater, you can tame new mounts by subduing them or feeding them to build Trust.
Marriage: how romance works
Each of the three leads can marry. Flirt, give a gift and chat once per day each to build Trust, then propose when Trust hits 100. Be careful: flirting with one character lowers your Trust with the other two. Some partners, such as the Witches, need their sanctum quests done first. There are 17 places you can set up a home together, and a breakup has a cost.
Castles, businesses and Garden of Trials
- Management: run a restaurant, sawmill, smithy and tailor’s shop from the new Facilities tab, plus new festivals and Honorary Greymanes content.
- Garden of Trials: 10 groups of fights where you bring up to 3 characters in order and cannot heal with food. Each group you clear enhances a skill.
- Combat extras: new boss rematches through Memory Fragments, a Relic Collector, Banker’s Dice and kitchen tools you can fight with.
Free update for everyone: 2.04.00
You do not need the DLC to get the base game fixes. Update 2.04.00 raises item stack sizes and lets PC players pick upscaling and frame generation separately, so you can, for example, pair DLSS with FSR Frame Generation. A hotfix on October 29 (CT) fixed the ship cannon camera, several housing issues and the “Footsteps in Unfamiliar Lands” quest.
Save warning before you play
Pearl Abyss says save files created with Charting the Unknown cannot be loaded or cross-saved on a version of Crimson Desert without the DLC. If you share a save between PC and another device, or might refund, keep a backup from before you install.
Not sure yet? Try the base game free
A 5-hour free trial of the base game (no DLC content) is live, and your progress carries over if you buy. It runs for PlayStation Plus Premium and Deluxe members until October 29, 2027, and for all Xbox players until January 7, 2027.
Game Beacon’s take
At $24.99, Charting the Unknown is worth it if you finished the story and wanted more reasons to explore. Ships, diving and castle management give you a reason to stay in Pywel, and diving costs you no unlock at all, so it is the first thing to try tonight. If you were on the fence after the 77 Metacritic score and 6 million sales debate, start with the free 5-hour trial and buy the DLC once you hit Howling Hill.
Sources: Pearl Abyss launch notice, Charting the Unknown overview, Update 2.04.00 patch notes, hotfix notice, Steam, official Crimson Desert account on X.
