Ghost Ship Games confirmed Season 07, Season 08, and a new Expansion DLC for Deep Rock Galactic during Coffee Stain Publishing’s The Big Break showcase. The studio had teased a big announcement during Rocktoberfest 2026 ahead of the showcase. Season 07 is titled Contingency Protocol and targets December 2026. Ghost Ship Games says the announcement means loads of new content coming to Deep Rock Galactic within the next year.
Season 07 Contingency Protocol arrives in December
The Season 07 story setup involves a recent surge of gravitational anomalies in and around Hoxxes IV. Geomagnetic poles seem to reverse within a concentrated area, and data suggests the phenomenon may be linked to a recent spate of fatal Drop Pod crashes. Management enacted a Contingency Protocol. Mining crews will be sent to Drop Pod crash sites for forensic analysis, and R&D is receiving a budget increase for new defensive technologies.
Season 07 adds about 20 new Overclocks total, focused on secondary weapons. Named examples include Neurotoxin Minelets, Dragonfire Shells, and Dismantler Rounds. The revised Perk System brings 11 new perks, reworks some old perks, adds a new Perk Maintenance system that works like the existing Weapon Maintenance system, and introduces Perk Proficiency slots that convert excess perk points into small baseline stat buffs.
A new creature called the Kadoc Inker appears in the caves of Hoxxes. Players find them and harvest ink sacs for industrial pigments and unsanctioned tattoos. Traversal tool paintjobs are a new cosmetic option to customize traversal tools, likely tied to the Performance Pass and a new perk maintenance system.
The new Season Event tasks players with retrieving Memory Cores from Drop Pod crash sites, where gravity may still be a bit wonky. The new free Performance Pass includes a signature weapon framework called Ironclad Tactical.
Season 08 and a first paid Expansion DLC in summer 2027
Season 08 and the Expansion DLC release in summer 2027 at the same time. Season 08 will be completely free, like every season before it. The Expansion DLC will cost real money, a first for Deep Rock Galactic. Ghost Ship Games says Season 08 will likely be one of the smaller seasons but will still have the essentials.
Ghost Ship Games says the paid expansion lets the studio be way more ambitious with the content it adds. The studio also says there is more planned across the extended Deep Rock Galactic universe in the coming year. Scorched Steel is closing preorders for official Abyss Bar beer mugs on October 31st.
