Ironwood Studios has announced the first major DLC expansion for Pacific Drive, titled Whispers in the Woods, and it'll launch sometime later in 2025.
The studio revealed the expansion earlier today as the climax of a live stream it started days before, teasing players with a countdown. At the end of the countdown today at 12pm ET, the trailer below debuted.
Alongside its debut, a PlayStation Blog post went live revealing more details about the expansion, which takes players on a new journey into the Olympic Exclusion Zone that can be accessed alongside the game's main campaign.
Whispers in the Woods "explores the rise of a terrifying group of anomaly obsessed fanatics hidden deep within the depths of the forests," per the blog post and Blake Dove, communications and marketing specialist at Ironwood Studios.
"From the very beginning, we knew we wanted to take the mysteries of the Olympic Exclusion Zone in a new direction for this Expansion," added Cassandra Dracott, Ironwood Studios' creative director. "We had heard so much feedback and so many stories about the fear people had experienced in Pacific Drive and in With Whispers in the Woods, we knew we wanted to lean hard in that direction."
There's a new narrative for players to explore that's entirely voiced, you'll also be finding and collecting new artifacts, and there will be new anomalies for you to face in the OEZ. The artifacts "are the expansion’s gameplay centerpiece," according to Dove.
"Inspired by our quirk system, each Artifact is imbued with a condition and an effect said condition creates. Perhaps every time you jump, your car horn honks. Maybe when your car horn honks it also takes damage. While some may grant you strange advantages, others will add twists and turns to how you play. Artifacts can even play off of each other to create chain reactions."
It'll be interesting to see what artifacts add to the gameplay, and what secrets of the OEZ can be uncovered in the expansion. "We see this release as both for our longtime players and a welcome sign for newcomers," says Dracott. "If you’ve been driving through the Zone since day one, Whispers in the Woods is going to add a brand new, more terrifying take on the Olympic Exclusion Zone. And if you’re just starting out, this expansion marks the best version of the game to date with new systems and content to find and explore."
About the author: David has been writing about videogames, technology, and culture since 2020, with a focus on reporting daily news across multiple publications, including GameDaily.Biz, GameSkinny, and PlayStation Universe before joining Wccftech in 2025. David started contributing as Canada/US reporter for Wccftech's gaming section in 2025. Besides being up-to-date on the industry's movements, he loves interviewing developers, reviewing games, and writing intricate essays about the symbolism and layered meanings to be found in rich narratives as he's done for publications like GamesIndustry.Biz, LostInCult, and others. Outside of games he loves movies, music, theatre, his hometown, and his family, though not necessarily in that order.
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