Pearl Abyss conducted a corporate briefing for shareholders on the 7th, attended by CEO Heo Jin-young, COO Lee Dong-won, and CFO Cho Mi-young. The briefing, lasting nearly three and a half hours, included management presentations and a Q&A session. CEO Heo Jin-young apologized for the recent decline in stock price and emphasized the company’s commitment to improving communication and regaining trust. He outlined four key tasks for the company, including focusing on long-term growth of IPs, developing new titles, fulfilling shareholder return policies, and improving market communication. COO Lee Dong-won highlighted the success of Crimson Desert and discussed future plans, while also providing updates on the development of the next title, DokeV. CFO Cho Mi-young explained the shareholder return policy and principles of market communication. The presentation concluded with a vision for the company’s next decade, focusing on expanding into a ‘Participatory Creative Ecosystem.’ Pearl Abyss has emphasized the importance of creating immersive and memorable experiences in an era dominated by AI-generated content. They have been accumulating the capabilities to achieve this for a long time and are focused on continuously creating IPs beyond just single game launches.
The company’s production capabilities are expanding in three directions: broadening their IP portfolio to include games like DokeV and Plan 8, exploring different worlds and genres beyond medieval fantasy, and creating a creative ecosystem where players can participate as creators.
Pearl Abyss is focused on utilizing the BlackSpace Engine as the foundation for their expansions and turning their envisioned possibilities into reality. They acknowledge the concerns about their stock price and are working on better communicating their future prospects and growth expectations to the market.
The company is considering obtaining a Chinese license for distribution but is carefully reviewing various factors before making a decision. They are also exploring the possibility of releasing Crimson Desert on the Nintendo Switch 2 but emphasize the importance of maintaining the game’s graphics and gameplay quality on different platforms.
Regarding multiplayer mode for Crimson Desert, the company is conducting studies on technical feasibility and gameplay but there are no confirmed release plans yet. Pearl Abyss has no plans to sell the BlackSpace Engine externally but is looking into utilizing it as a tool for an ecosystem where creators can participate and generate content.
CEO Heo Jin-young acknowledges the initial ratings and early-game completion issues with Crimson Desert and is working on patches based on user feedback. The company is focusing on strengthening their development processes to ensure a better overall gaming experience for future titles. The story reinforcement work and DLC preparation currently underway for Crimson Desert are also part of the process of accumulating experience necessary for the development of future titles like DokeV.
CEO Heo Jin-young: The company is focusing on expanding Crimson Desert with DLC to ensure that users can enjoy the game for a long time. The DLC is currently in development, and we are carefully considering the content direction and completion to provide additional fun for players who enjoyed the main game. While we are considering paid DLC, the pricing structure and release timing are still being finalized. We plan to provide more information on the release timing and direction within this year.
Discount sales are an important strategy for console package games, and we are preparing for it internally. However, we will disclose our discount plans according to our marketing schedule to prevent users from waiting for discounts before purchasing the game.
CFO Cho Mi-young: Share buybacks are being conducted within a set range based on market prices to enhance shareholder value in the long term. We are not considering canceling shares immediately after purchase, as it may not have the desired effect on shareholder value. The decision to cancel shares will be made by the board of directors after a comprehensive review of various factors.
Regarding a transfer to the KOSPI, we are considering the potential advantages but have not made a definitive decision yet. We will review the transfer in a direction that helps enhance corporate value.
As for the introduction of the KOSDAQ segment system, we are closely monitoring the exchange’s progress and will prepare to enter the first-tier segment once the evaluation indicators are outlined.
CEO Heo Jin-young: We are focusing on hiring people who fit the company’s vision and goals to retain development talent and accumulate capabilities. The team working on Crimson Desert and DokeV combines experienced personnel with new talent to ensure continued production capabilities for future titles.
CEO Heo Jin-young: It is challenging to quantify how much revenue DLC and platform expansion for Crimson Desert can fill the gap until the release of DokeV. We will provide more information on this in future earnings reports. Plan 8 is in the concept stage and is being developed as part of our mid-to-long-term new title lineup. It is a shooter genre game, and we are currently finalizing the concept and direction for the project.
As for new footage or titles to be revealed at the booth, we are always considering opportunities to showcase our latest developments. However, at this time, there are no specific plans to reveal new titles or footage at Gamescom. We want to focus on providing insights into our technology and engaging with the community through our existing projects. However, the update on the progress of upcoming titles like DokeV is not featured in the Gamescom event.