Crimson Desert Enhanced gets a free five-hour console trial that runs until January 6
Progress carries into the full game. On PS5 the trial needs PS Plus Premium or Deluxe, while on Xbox it is open to everyone, no Game Pass subscription required.
Pearl Abyss has opened a free five-hour trial of Crimson Desert Enhanced on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, running from October 29, 2026 to January 6, 2027. Your save carries over if you buy the full game, but the five-hour timer is final: you cannot restart the trial on a fresh save once it runs out.
Who can play
On PlayStation, the trial is limited to PlayStation Plus Premium and Deluxe members on PS5. Deluxe is the top tier sold in most of Asia, so that is the subscription SEA PlayStation players need. On Xbox, the trial is open to everyone, with no Game Pass or other paid subscription required. PC is not part of the offer, but Crimson Desert Enhanced remains on Steam.
The trial covers only the base game. The new Charting the Unknown expansion, which launched on October 29 after a two-week delay, is not included, and five hours would not get you close to it anyway.
Why Pearl Abyss is doing this now
Crimson Desert launched on March 19, 2026 and became one of the year's biggest releases, passing six million copies in three months. Pearl Abyss paid every employee a $3,400 bonus off the back of it, and the publisher's revenue jumped 419 percent. The Enhanced update, a free upgrade for owners, reworked the story, added new skills and folded in all earlier patches.
A no-strings console trial timed with the first paid expansion is a clear pitch to players who skipped the launch, especially those put off by early reports of bugs and a rough start.
What comes next
Charting the Unknown is the first DLC, and Pearl Abyss has hinted at more, including multiplayer-focused content and an eventual sequel. A Switch 2 version is also in development. For now, if you skipped the launch, five free hours on Xbox or a Deluxe-tier PS5 is enough to decide whether it is for you before the trial closes on January 6.
Source: Eurogamer; Crimson Desert Enhanced on Steam.
