NH Investment & Securities said on the 23rd that Pearl Abyss shares, which had recently corrected, are likely to stabilize given the initial sales of the new title Crimson Desert. It maintained a "Buy" rating and raised the target price to 51,000 won from 43,000 won. Pearl Abyss closed the previous session at 41,500 won.
An Jae-min, an analyst at NH Investment & Securities, said, "Initially, the Metacritic score, a global game rating site, came in at 78, a somewhat disappointing result that sent the stock down sharply," but noted, "Actual first-day sales were not bad."
Crimson Desert sold 2 million copies on the first day of release, and the peak concurrent users on the Steam platform reached about 239,000.
However, the analyst said, "In user reviews, dissatisfaction has been raised over controller feel that differs from existing games, and the thin storyline and quest design are being cited as drawbacks."
NH Investment & Securities raised its 2026 sales estimate for Crimson Desert to 5.26 million copies (3.13 million consoles, 2.13 million PC) from 3.49 million (1.96 million consoles, 1.53 million PC) to reflect solid initial sales. It also raised its annual revenue forecast to 383.5 billion won from 263.5 billion won.
The analyst said, "Given the initial sales disclosed by Pearl Abyss, results should be solid," adding, "Because of the characteristics of console games, some revenue will be deferred, and positive results are likely to continue through the second quarter."
For the first quarter, Pearl Abyss is forecast to post revenue of 210.6 billion won and operating profit of 78.6 billion won. Revenue is expected to rise 151.6% on-year, with operating profit swinging to a surplus.
The analyst added, "After earnings growth driven by the success of Crimson Desert, a slowdown in new-title momentum is inevitable until 2028, when the next title, DokeV, is expected to launch."