Crimson Desert goes free-to-play to celebrate DLC launch

Crimson Desert has officially gone free-to-play to celebrate the successful launch of its new DLC expansion

The 2026 Game of the Year contender released Charting the Abyss on October 29, adding a brand-new area to the game’s already absurdly large map.

Crimson Desert isn’t my cup of tea by any means, but to give credit where it’s due, Pearl Abyss did an outstanding job with the game’s open world. It’s enormous, looks gorgeous and seems to have just enough to do if you’re willing to put the hours in.

Its open-world scale is a double-edged sword, though. As impressive as it is, the sheer size of it was just too much for me with all the other AAAs we’ve had this year; the same’s true for other gamers.

Fortunately, if you’re unwilling to buy a full-priced, 250+ hour RPG without knowing if you’ll like it first, a free five-hour trial is available now on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.

How to play Crimson Desert for free on PlayStation and Xbox

Accessing the free trial is straightforward, but Xbox users are going to have an easier time.

For PlayStation users, you need a valid subscription to PlayStation Plus in order to play it, whereas Xbox owners can just play it outright.

Five hours should be plenty to determine whether the game is right for you, and you’ll be experiencing it at its best as well because the version playable is the upgraded Enhanced Edition.

Should you enjoy your time with the game and purchase it, your progress from the trial will carry over to the full game, so you won’t have to start over. That’s a godsend because the early parts of the game can be quite tutorial-heavy and you won’t want to replay them.

There are a few limitations for the demo, however. For starters, you can’t endlessly replay it. Once your fives are up, you’ll either have to ditch the game entirely or buy the full version to keep playing.

It also doesn’t include access to the Charting the Unknown DLC. This isn’t a big problem, to be honest, as that’s late-game content anyway. You wouldn’t want to play it in your first five hours.

All in all, this is an excellent and generous taster from Pearl Abyss. What’s more, you’ve got plenty of time to play it, as the free trial will be available well into next year.

PlayStation users can access it from the time of writing to October 27 2027, whereas Xbox users have significantly less time. Their trial will disappear on January 7 2027.

Crimson Desert is certainly one of the better games to launch this year, and while it’s an easy Game of the Year contender, it still has steep competition. The Game Awards 2026 is going to be an interesting show.