An unusual scene unfolded as a banner cheering on domestic game company Pearl Abyss was hung in an apartment complex in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province. It was to wish success for the company's newly released title "Crimson Desert." The banner was installed with the Pearl Abyss headquarters as the backdrop. Promotional material announcing the Crimson Desert release date also hangs on the exterior wall of the headquarters.
Views of game companies are often negative in residential areas near schools. That is because of the perception that games disrupt children's studies. In fact, right in front of this apartment complex facing the Pearl Abyss headquarters is a school that combines an elementary and a middle school.
Pearl Abyss broke this stereotype with a cup of coffee. On Mar. 27, at six cafes near its headquarters, it offered 300 cups per store, 1,800 cups in total, free of charge to residents and others. If you went to a participating cafe and said "Congratulations, Pearl Abyss," you received a free coffee. All 1,800 cups were gone on the day the giveaway began.
Nearby residents moved to return the favor. They voluntarily decided to hang banners in the apartment complex cheering on Pearl Abyss. The banners put up by residents read "Pearl Abyss Crimson Desert soaring into the world of games!!" and "Chosen by 3 million, as expected, Pearl Abyss," among other phrases.
The response continued online. A parent who received a coffee gift from a daughter said, "My daughter came home from school holding a coffee, and I thanked her even though she probably didn't have any allowance money, but it turned out Pearl Abyss held an event," adding it was a "meaningful event," in a post. Multiple posts in gaming communities also said they had the free coffee.
Such trust between corporations and residents did not build up overnight. Pearl Abyss opens a multipurpose room inside its headquarters to local residents every weekend. Residents can enjoy basketball, table tennis and badminton there from 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. on weekends. It is also used every Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon as a venue for the Galhyeon-dong cultural education center program.
Perhaps thanks to the residents' support, Crimson Desert has been rapidly increasing sales since its release. By Mar. 20, four days after launch, it surpassed 3 million copies, and reached 4 million in 12 days. In the securities market, there are projections that next year's sales will exceed 12 million copies.
Buoyed by this success, the atmosphere around the Pearl Abyss headquarters is buzzing again. That is because of expectations that there could be another surprise event. Pearl Abyss said, "For now, there are no separate plans," but added, "It is being positively received as a case of a game company being accepted as a neighborhood member."