Dragon’s Dogma is not a perfect game, but it was my personal game of the year in 2012. The only real problem with Capcom’s ambitious RPG was that it was a little too small. That will be remedied a bit in April with the launch of a new expansion.

Capcom announced today that Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen will hit retail on April 23 in North American and April 26 in Europe. The game is an expansion, but it includes the entirety of the main game alongside of it with some marked improvements that came about from player feedback.

What about those who already own the original game? Can we just buy the expansion? Unfortunately, that won’t be the case. To help incentivize owners of the original, however, Capcom will be offering a number of bonuses to those who have already completed the game.

Owners of the original Dragon’s Dogma will be able to export their existing characters and all other saved data to continue their journey as the Arisen, and face a new threat that has emerged from the cavernous depths. Players will be able to take their characters to new heights with brand new high-level skills and augments as well as all new weapons and armor sets. Furthermore, owners of the original Dragon’s Dogma will receive 100,000 Rift Crystals, unlimited Ferrystones and the Gransys Armour Pack consisting of six brand new costumes for free, upon purchasing Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen.

Capcom has also released a new trailer showing off the new content that players will find in the depths of Gransys:

If you prefer text over video, here’s all the new content being added to the game:

Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen will retail for $39.99 when it launches on April 23. It will be available for Xbox 360 and the PS3. It will also be available via the PSN on April 23.