Crimson Desert is one of 2026's most successful releases. The game managed to sell over 6 million copies in just three months, and ended up being so profitable that its publisher ended up giving each employee at development studio Pearl Abyss a $3,400 bonus. Since launch, the dev has been committed to improving the game and correcting some of the more egregious issues that were present at launch.
Now, over half a year after its launch - and with the publisher's revenue up a massive 419 percent - it seems the company is eager to let anyone that hasn't yet purchased the game try it out, completely free. To celebrate the launch of the delayed Charting the Unknown DLC, which came out yesterday, Pearl Abyss has made the first five hours of the game completely free to play for (nearly) anyone on Xbox or PlayStation.
The free trial is available from 29th October to 6th January, and is accessible to anyone with PlayStation Plus Premium and Deluxe subscribers on PlayStation 5, and to all players on Xbox - irrespective of whether or not you've got a paid sub for Xbox's ecosystem. The trial covers only the Crimson Desert Enhanced base game (you probably wouldn't get to the Charting the Unknown content in that time anyway, to be honest).
Any trial progress you make carries over to the full game if you decide to purchase it, and once your five hours are up, that's it - you can't restart the trial on a different save or something like that. The timer is final.
Charting the Unknown is the first bit of DLC for the game - there's likely more to come - and a Switch 2 version of the sandbox fantasy RPG is currently in development. The developer has hinted at multiplayer-focused DLC in the future, as well as a sequel to the popular game. If you're curious what took the world by storm earlier this year, you can try the free trial on your console of choice right now.
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