Charting the Unknown Release Date and Time

0:00 Charting the Unknown, Crimson Desert's first DLC, unlocks on Oct 29, 2026 at 22:00 UTC: 3 p.m. PT and 6 p.m. ET on Thursday, Oct 29, 23:00 in Central Europe, and 07:00 KST/JST on Friday, Oct 30, on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Steam and the Epic Games Store at the same moment (Pearl Abyss). Pearl Abyss first set it for Oct 15 and moved it two weeks on Sep 30, 2026. It costs $24.99 and is not on the Mac App Store at launch. The reveal trailer opens on the land it adds: a hazy desert under a pale sun, two cloaked travelers looking over red rock, and a man with a map as a lone figure walks into an orange sandstorm, while a narrator says "Beyond the Crimson Desert lies a hidden land."

Quick facts

Release time in every time zone

Pearl Abyss gave five times, the first four lines below, and repeated them on Oct 20, 2026 (Pearl Abyss on Steam); the other lines are worked out from 22:00 UTC by arithmetic, with the clocks in use on Oct 29 (Europe leaves summer time on Oct 25 and the United States on Nov 1, 2026).

Pearl Abyss's Oct 20 post writes the European time as 23:00 CEST; on Oct 29 Central Europe is back on winter time, one hour ahead of UTC, so 22:00 UTC is 23:00 there either way. The site's countdown counts to 22:00 UTC.

How the date moved

1:21 Pearl Abyss revealed Charting the Unknown at Sony's State of Play on Sep 3, 2026 with a first date of Oct 15, 2026 at 22:00 UTC (Oct 16 in Korea) and opened pre-orders the same day (Pearl Abyss). The reveal trailer ends on that date: after a fight in a wooden fort and a mechanical crab-like machine firing a red beam across the desert, the title gives way to "October 15, 2026" and a pre-order screen with two figures in diving suits.

On Sep 30, 2026 Pearl Abyss moved it to Oct 29 (notice): "we have determined that we need additional development time to deliver a more polished and stable gameplay experience. Therefore, we have decided to move the DLC's release date by 2 weeks", and it apologized for "the longer wait". It revised its pre-order notice to the new times on Oct 12, 2026, and on Oct 20 said "additional details will also be shared via patch notes on the day of release".

The same hour as the game's launch

1:15 The DLC keeps the hour Crimson Desert itself launched at. The base game came out on all platforms at once on Mar 19, 2026 at 22:00 UTC (3 p.m. PT), Mar 20 at 07:00 KST/JST, with no early access (Pearl Abyss); its launch trailer closes on "Available on March 19" and a pre-order screen with the five stores' logos. For that launch, pre-loading opened 48 hours early on the PlayStation Store, Xbox, the Microsoft Store and Steam.

Pre-load, file size and other unknowns

As of Oct 21, 2026, Pearl Abyss has not announced:

• Pre-loading. Whether the DLC can be downloaded before 22:00 UTC, and when; for the base game it gave 48 hours on four stores in a notice a week before launch.
• Download size. Steam lists the base game at 150 GB; the DLC's own size is not published.
• Steam on Mac. Pearl Abyss says the DLC is not on the Mac App Store at launch and will announce Mac App Store plans separately (notice); Steam's DLC page lists Mac requirements, but Pearl Abyss has not said whether Steam's Mac version gets it on Oct 29.
• Length. No playing time or count of new bosses has been given.

What the DLC adds and when each part opens in the game is on Charting the Unknown.

What to have ready

1:01 Charting the Unknown needs the base game, now sold as Crimson Desert Enhanced (the free 2.00.00 update), on the latest version; the newest patch is 2.03.02 of Sep 23, 2026 (Patch Notes). Some of it waits on progress in the main story, Pearl Abyss said on Oct 20, 2026: diving is open from the start, but sailing your own ship, like the ship and dive in the trailer, needs a questline that opens after the Greymane Camp is set up at Howling Hill, and the three new character stories, the castles and the Garden of Trials start after the main story is finished. A player who has not finished it can see how far there is to go on Main Quests and Chapters.

Platforms and price

Charting the Unknown costs $24.99 on every store (27,800 won in Korea) and is digital only. It is sold on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Steam and the Epic Games Store; it is not sold in some markets after "a review of content and age rating requirements", which Pearl Abyss did not name. Pre-ordering gives the Charter's Diving Set for Kliff and Oongka and the Charter's Light Diving Set for Damiane (Pearl Abyss). Other editions are on Editions and Price.

Frequently asked questions

When does the Crimson Desert DLC come out? Charting the Unknown, Crimson Desert's first DLC, comes out on Oct 29, 2026 at 22:00 UTC, which is 3 p.m. PT and 6 p.m. ET on Oct 29.

What time does Charting the Unknown release in my region? Charting the Unknown unlocks at the same moment everywhere: 22:00 UTC on Oct 29, 2026, which is 23:00 in Central Europe on Oct 29 and 07:00 in Korea and Japan on Oct 30.

Was the Crimson Desert DLC delayed? Yes. Pearl Abyss moved Charting the Unknown two weeks, from Oct 15 to Oct 29, 2026, on Sep 30, 2026, to deliver "a more polished and stable gameplay experience".

Can you pre-load Charting the Unknown? Pearl Abyss has not announced pre-loading for Charting the Unknown as of Oct 21, 2026; for Crimson Desert's own launch, pre-loading opened 48 hours early on PlayStation, Xbox, the Microsoft Store and Steam.

Is Charting the Unknown on Mac? Charting the Unknown is not on the Mac App Store at launch, Pearl Abyss said, and it has not said whether Crimson Desert's Steam Mac version gets the DLC on Oct 29, 2026.

How much does Charting the Unknown cost? Crimson Desert's Charting the Unknown DLC costs $24.99 on Steam, PlayStation, Xbox and the Epic Games Store.

Sources

• Charting the Unknown: Release Date Update, Pearl Abyss, Sep 30, 2026
• Charting the Unknown DLC Features Overview, Pearl Abyss, Oct 20, 2026
• Charting the Unknown pre-order notice, Pearl Abyss, Sep 3, 2026, revised Oct 12, 2026
• Pearl Abyss Announces Crimson Desert Enhanced: Charting the Unknown DLC, Pearl Abyss, Sep 3, 2026
• Global Release Time and Pre-load Notice, Pearl Abyss, Mar 12, 2026
• Charting the Unknown on Steam, Steam, read Oct 20, 2026
• Crimson Desert Enhanced: Charting the Unknown pre-orders begin, Inven Global, Sep 3, 2026
• Charting the Unknown Official DLC Reveal Trailer, Crimson Desert, Sep 3, 2026 (video)
• Official Launch Trailer, Crimson Desert, Mar 12, 2026 (video)