Pearl Abyss, a South Korean developer, experienced a significant surge in operating revenue during the first quarter of the year. The revenue skyrocketed by 419.8% year-over-year, reaching ₩328.5 billion ($220.6 million). This impressive growth was primarily driven by the launch of Crimson Desert on March 19.
The company’s operating profit also saw a substantial increase, climbing to ₩212.1 billion ($142.5 million) from ₩7.9 billion ($5.3 million) the previous year. This boost can be attributed to strong marketing efforts and revenue expansion.
Net profit followed suit, rising to ₩170 billion ($114.2 million) compared to ₩7.7 billion ($5.1 million) in the same period last year.
Crimson Desert proved to be a major contributor to the revenue, generating ₩266.5 billion ($179.1 million) with sales evenly split between console and PC platforms.
The company highlighted that console revenue is calculated after deducting platform fees, while PC revenue is recognized after deducting taxes from user payments.
Geographically, North America and Europe accounted for 81% of the total operating revenue, with Asia contributing 13% and Korea 6%. Notably, more than 80% of Crimson Desert sales were from North America and Europe.
Following the launch of Crimson Desert, the company saw a 31% increase in console revenue compared to the previous quarter. PC revenue accounted for 59% of the total, console for 38%, and mobile for 3%.
The Black Desert franchise maintained stable results, generating ₩61.6 billion ($41.4 million) quarter-on-quarter.
Pearl Abyss has forecasted operating revenue between ₩879 billion ($560.4 million) and ₩975.4 billion ($665.2 million), with Crimson Desert expected to contribute between ₩644.1 billion ($432.6 million) and ₩734.8 billion ($493.2 million).
Looking ahead, the company anticipates a decline in Crimson Desert revenue in Q2 due to front-loaded initial package sales. However, they expect the game to maintain stable performance through regular patches and updates.
Future plans for Crimson Desert include expanding its platform presence and releasing additional DLC. Additionally, the company is working on two new titles: DokeV, currently in pre-production, and Plan 8, in the conceptualization stage. Pearl Abyss aims to release new titles every two to three years.
In recent news, Pearl Abyss sold Fenris Creations (formerly CCP Games) back to its CEO for $120 million. The company had acquired the Icelandic developer in 2018 for $225 million in cash plus $200 million in performance-related payouts.
Fenris Creations confirmed that the transition would not involve any restructuring or layoffs, and Pearl Abyss expressed its intention to keep potential collaboration opportunities open.