Shinhan Investment Securities said on the 29th that Pearl Abyss proved its development capabilities with the performance of "Crimson Desert," but added that concerns about a profit decline will be raised due to a gap in new releases next year. It maintained a Buy rating and raised its target price to 72,000 won from 41,000 won. The previous trading day's closing price of Pearl Abyss was 60,600 won.
Kang Seok-oh, an analyst at Shinhan Investment Securities, said, "While concerns about a sharp drop in next year's earnings coexist despite the success of the new title, supply-demand factors such as a rise in the KOSDAQ index and short-covering are also significant," adding, "As the performance of 'Crimson Desert' overlaps with concerns about a gap in new releases, stock volatility is likely to remain high for the time being depending on supply-demand trends and interest in the sector."
Pearl Abyss is expected to post revenue of 433.5 billion won and operating profit of 254.7 billion won in the first quarter of this year. Revenue is projected to rise 418% from a year earlier, and operating profit is forecast to swing to a profit. With an operating margin of 58.7%, operating profit is expected to beat the consensus (average forecast) of 125 billion won.
Kang said, "We reflected 3.7 million units in sales for the current quarter for 'Crimson Desert,' and it is estimated that a smaller-than-expected 19.7 billion won in marketing expenses was spent due to viral momentum that began last year."
Released on the 20th of last month, Crimson Desert sold 2 million copies in a day and surpassed 5 million copies on the 26th day, marking a meaningful achievement for a Korean game company. On Metacritic, a global game rating aggregation site, it received a mid-tier score of 78, and the stock price plunged at one point as negative reviews on early controls and the story emerged.
Kang said, "It succeeded in a rebound as its vast map and side content, high degree of freedom, and freshness from not following the formula of existing open-world adventures came through."
Meanwhile, Pearl Abyss assumed the second quarter of 2028 for the launch of its next title, "DokeV." However, specific release schedules for "DokeV" and "Plan 8" have not been set.