Ghost Ship Games has outlined the next year of Deep Rock Galactic, beginning with Season 07 in December 2026 and extending to a free eighth season plus the game’s first paid gameplay expansion in summer 2027. The schedule was announced during Coffee Stain Publishing’s Big Break showcase, but the studio cautions that the Season 07 material remains work in progress.
Contingency Protocol starts with crashed Drop Pods
Season 07 is called Contingency Protocol. Its setup links unusual gravitational activity around Hoxxes IV to a series of fatal Drop Pod crashes. Players will visit crash sites to recover Memory Cores while dealing with unstable gravity. Ghost Ship Games says it is aiming for a December release rather than promising a fixed day.
The update is expected to add about 20 overclocks, this time focused on secondary weapons. The examples disclosed so far include Neurotoxin Minelets, Dragonfire Shells and Dismantler Rounds. The perk system is also being revised with 11 new perks, changes to existing perks and a maintenance track. After unlocking every perk, players will be able to spend excess points on proficiency slots that provide small baseline stat increases.
Other announced additions include traversal-tool paint jobs and a passive cave creature called the Kadoc Inker. The season’s new event revolves around the crash sites, while a free Performance Pass will include an Ironclad Tactical weapon framework. The studio says smaller quality-of-life changes and bug fixes are also planned, with more detail to follow closer to release.
Season 08 will accompany a paid expansion
Ghost Ship Games plans to release Season 08 and an extensive gameplay expansion together in summer 2027. Season 08 will remain free, following the model used for previous seasons. The separate expansion will be paid, which is a first for Deep Rock Galactic.
The studio describes the paid release as a way to support more ambitious additions while continuing free updates. It has not disclosed the expansion’s contents or price. Season 08 is likely to be smaller than Season 07, but is intended to continue the new storyline and retain the usual seasonal features. Those limits matter: the announcement establishes a release window and funding model, not a complete feature list.
For players, the clearest distinction is between what has been scoped and what remains provisional. December is the target for Contingency Protocol, summer 2027 is the target for the next season and expansion, and individual Season 07 features may still change during development.
Sources
- Reporting source: GamerHeadlines
- Primary source: Ghost Ship Games — Season 07, Season 08 and Expansion DLC announcement
