Crimson Desert Charting the Unknown DLC Features Revealed, Including Shipbuilding, Romance, and Housing

Pearl Abyss has pulled back the curtain on the upcoming Crimson Desert DLC, Charting the Unknown, revealing what players can expect.

Charting the Unknown adds new stories, ocean exploration, romance, business management and expanded housing to an already feature-packed Pywel. We have everything you need to know about the major additions below.

There are character focused stories for playable characters Kliff, Damiane, and Oongka, who, having put the fight for the Greymanes and Pywell to bed, set out on new paths. They’ll encounter allies and threats “both old and new.” Based on the new overview video, these new individual character stories will be relatively involved, with cutscenes pushing the plot forward.

The DLC expands the Great Ocean of Pywel area, which you might have crossed in the base game on the back of a dragon. After establishing the Greymane camp, you can unlock shipbuilding, then gather resources to build your own vessel and customize it before you set sail. Pearl Abyss said that you’ll fight enemies (there’s ship combat), establish new strongholds with the Greymanes, and earn new rewards.

You can craft your own dive suit to help you delve deeper into the ocean. “More secrets lie beneath the surface, where new underwater traversal methods let players dive below the waves to uncover sunken ruins, treasure and resources,” Pearl Abyss said, while showing off the ability to hitch a ride on the back of a sea creature.

If you earn the trust of certain characters you can develop romantic relationships and even marry, Pearl Abyss said. One potential romance option is Bari, the Witch of Kindness. Pictures shown reveal a number of dialogue options tied to this mechanic, including "Give a genuine compliment," and "Confess your feelings." “Close” companions may also visit the Greymane Camp to “spend some time together.”

As for housing, you will be able to design the structure of your home from the ground up, including the placement of walls, windows and other structural elements. This sounds fun: once you’ve liberated certain castles, you can claim them and decorate their interiors, turning it into a new home.

In the base game, once the Greymane camp was established, you could send comrades on missions to liberated strongholds. With the DLC, you can manage some of these locations directly. You can now lease facilities across Pywel, assign comrades and equipment, choose which goods to sell, and decide how best to run each business to grow its recognition and profits.

Pearl Abyss said “seasoned fighters seeking a greater test” should consider the new challenge where players face a series of powerful bosses from across Pywel, one after another. If you do well, expect "valuable rewards."

As someone put Crimson Desert down some time ago having sunk over 100 hours into the game, I'm feeling the pull to return to the game for the DLC. Pearl Abyss' relentless pace of updates in the wake of Crimson Desert's launch earlier this year made significant improvements and added game-changing features, but the new systems and mechanics coming with Charting the Unknown clearly take things to a new level. Even if you're not into story side of things, there's plenty to fuss over. The business management system, for example, looks like tens of hours of gameplay alone. Then there's underwater exploration and what I'm sure will end up a fan-favorite: romance.

Crimson Desert Enhanced: Charting the Unknown launches on October 29, 2026 at 2pm PT, 5pm ET, 10pm UK time, on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, and PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store.

Wesley is IGN's Managing Editor. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.