Pearl Abyss swung to a loss on a full-year basis last year. After losses in the first and second quarters, it posted a one-off profit in the third quarter but returned to a loss in the fourth quarter, failing to avoid worsening profitability. Existing live-service titles helped defend revenue, but the gap without a new release dragged on. Still, expectations for a rebound are rising as the new title "Crimson Desert," in development for seven years, is set for a simultaneous global launch in March. The performance of "Crimson Desert" is expected to be more than just the success of a new release; it will serve as a test bed for Pearl Abyss' structural shift and for gauging Korean game companies' competitiveness in the AAA console and packaged-game market.
◇ Despite strong runs by "Black Desert" and "EVE," new-title investment and restructuring expense weigh
Pearl Abyss on the 12th announced its fourth-quarter and full-year results for last year. On a consolidation basis, fourth-quarter sales were 95.5 billion won, operating loss was 8.4 billion won, and net loss was 14.4 billion won. Sales fell 10.6% from the previous quarter and 0.2% from a year earlier, and operating profit and net profit swung to losses.
Full-year sales came to 365.6 billion won, up 6.8% from a year earlier, but the company returned to the red with an operating loss of 14.8 billion won and a net loss of 7.6 billion won. Fourth-quarter operating expense was 103.9 billion won, up 8% from the previous quarter. Personnel costs, reflecting one-off expenses from a subsidiary restructuring and increased QA and development staff for "Crimson Desert," totaled 50.7 billion won. As of the end of the fourth quarter, total headcount was 1,363, of which 793 were developers, accounting for 58%.
Cho Mi-young, Pearl Abyss chief financial officer (CFO), said on the fourth-quarter earnings conference call, "With the launch of 'Crimson Desert' imminent, we are running various marketing efforts that can translate into actual sales," adding, "Until launch, related expense will increase compared with normal, but after launch it will come down to the quarterly average level, so on a full-year basis it should not be burdensome."
Legacy IPs maintained steady momentum. "Black Desert" introduced the new class "Seraphim" and a new season of "Solare's Spear," and on consoles it quickly applied the "Atoraxxion" and "Edania" updates. On mobile, sales increased with the expansion of the "Land of the Morning Light" series and a new season overhaul. "EVE Online" achieved its highest quarterly sales since COVID-19 following the "Catalyst" expansion update, as user reactivation and engagement rose.
Cho, the CFO, said, "Black Desert, even in its 11th year since launch, saw a slight sales increase from a year earlier, maintaining its position as a long-running game," adding, "EVE also showed growth in its 22nd year of service."
◇ AAA-level polish built on a proprietary engine… "Expecting 7 million units sold"
Market attention is focused on Crimson Desert. First unveiled in 2019 and developed over about seven years, the title was initially planned as an MMORPG but shifted direction to a single-player–focused open-world action-adventure. It is Pearl Abyss' first full-scale, premium packaged blockbuster.
Crimson Desert has surpassed 2 million wishlists on major platforms such as Steam and entered the upper ranks of preorders in key regions in North America and Europe. Praise from major global media is continuing. IGN in North America highlighted the combat system, open world, and boss fights across six installments through "IGN First," and MMORPG.com named it the most anticipated title of 2026. The U.K.'s TechRadar and Germany's GameStar also gave high marks to its graphics and open-world polish.
The technical core of Crimson Desert is its in-house "Blackspace Engine." Eschewing commercial engines in favor of a proprietary one, it implements open-world scale, physics calculations, and real-time environmental changes. In the released demo footage, seamless field traversal without loading, combat based on environmental interaction, and differentiated combat feel according to weather changes were confirmed.
Pearl Abyss is ramping up related marketing ahead of launch. From late February, it plans to hold an offline preview event to unveil new content to global media and influencers. However, it will not conduct a broad platform demo. The company said, "To focus on the open-world nature and final launch polish, we do not plan to run a broad demo through platforms."
Pearl Abyss will launch "Crimson Desert" simultaneously worldwide on Mar. 20 for PC and console platforms. As the structure centers on packaged sales, the initial sales portion is expected to be large. If it becomes a hit, not only short-term earnings improvement but also the establishment of a mid- to long-term revenue base through IP expansion and follow-up content would be possible.
Brokerages are also reflecting the optimism. Meritz Securities recently raised its target price to 62,000 won, analyzing, "Our base scenario sees 6.96 million units sold over 21 months after the launch of 'Crimson Desert,' and depending on performance in China, more than 9 million units is also possible." The break-even point is cited at around 3 million units.
Meanwhile, Pearl Abyss also laid out a roadmap following the launch of Crimson Desert. After Crimson Desert, it plans to roll out "DokeV" and "PLAN 8" in sequence. It explained that as the Blackspace Engine has entered a stabilization phase, an environment has been established to focus more on development starting with the next titles.
Regarding the release schedule for DokeV, Cho, the CFO, said, "Considering the preparation experience for 'Crimson Desert,' we needed at least about a year of launch preparation even after the game was completed, so it appears that roughly two years will be required after the launch of Crimson Desert." Cho added, "We will communicate more details on DokeV later this year after the launch of Crimson Desert."