It looks like Crimson Desert might be getting ready to expand its world map as developer Pearl Abyss continues work on its DLC. According to a new video by NANGPLE, some of the changes that were made in the recent updates for Crimson Desert have indicated that the title’s expansion might go for a nautical theme.
Some of the changes spotted by NANGPLE include the addition of blue seaweed showing up underwater, and coastlines now having white, sandy terrain. Outside of the game’s explorable zone, the YouTuber has also spotted some changes in the visible horizon. A region that has often been referred to by fans of the game as South Island has seen some visual enhancements, which indicates that Pearl Abyss might make it an explorable zone with the expansion.
The waters close to the northern desert region have also seen some changes, with some of the nearby underwater areas becoming more visible. Along with this, players have also managed to find hints of a submerged island on the eastern side of the map.
While Pearl Abyss itself hasn’t revealed any details about what we might see in the Crimson Desert expansion, these changes would imply that new additions might have a nautical theme to them. Whether this means players will get their own methods for traversing the waters or if it will simply end up being a new area, however, remains to be seen.
The latest update for Crimson Desert introduced major improvements to the open-world game, with the biggest one being the ability to conduct research by spending Camp Funds rather than Silver. Players can also find a new Quest section in the Knowledge menu, which provides more details about every activity in the game, including Daily Life Quests, Constellations, and even Main Quests.
Other changes made with the update include new options for Lock-On Camera Rotation, fixes for when some special mounts could get stuck when trying to cross low ledges, and even a fix for an issue where a player couldn’t climb through windows despite the lack of any obstacles.
Crimson Desert is currently available on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S. In the meantime, Pearl Abyss is also working on a Nintendo Switch 2 version. While the studio had originally spoken about investigating a potential port, earlier this month, it confirmed that it is targeting the first half of 2027 for the Switch 2 release.
“In the case of Switch 2, the game has reached a playable baseline, and we are currently conducting technical reviews regarding performance optimization and quality standard compliance, targeting a release in the first half of next year.”
The port seemingly requires more time because the studio has noted that “platform expansion is not merely a straightforward port – the key requirement is ensuring that the game’s graphics, combat action, and seamless open-world experience are fully preserved on each target device.”
As for the DLC, Pearl Abyss has said that it is targeting a 2026 release, and that more details about it will be revealed in the company’s third quarter of the current fiscal year, which could mean any point before September 30th.
