Black Desert Online is free to keep on Steam until next week, as Eternal Winter expansion launches

Black Desert Online is best known for its robust character creation system, but the MMO has been steadily gaining new content over the past eight years. The Blue Maned Lion’s Manor and Yar card game updates are two of the most recent, but it’s the launch of a new expansion that’s prompted this current promotion.

Black Desert Online is currently free to keep on Steam, from now through Wednesday, April 13. Remember, “free to keep” isn’t the same thing as “free to play” — if you add the normally priced game to your Steam library now, it’s yours forever at no cost. This deal comes hot on the heels of a cold expansion: Eternal Winter just launched on April 6. Set on the titular Mountain of Eternal Winter, the new content includes the Drakania class, who wield super-long swords, along with all the new quests and storylines you’d expect.

Eternal Winter is a paid expansion, so developer Pearl Abyss is hoping to hook you by making the base game free. Additionally, this works as a counter to Lost Ark, another Korean MMO that is totally free to play. Considering Lost Ark hit 20 million players last month, it’s certainly one of Black Desert’s chief competitors. It’s expanding as well, with two new classes and raids slated for this spring.