PearlAbyss

Pearl Abyss develops PC and console games in-house on its proprietary BlackSpace Engine and also runs global direct service.

Its two pillars are the Black Desert intellectual property (online, mobile and console), serviced since 2015, and the new intellectual property Crimson Desert, launched globally on March 20, 2026.

Company-disclosed second-quarter 2026 revenue by intellectual property was KRW 136.1bn for Crimson Desert and KRW 55.0bn for Black Desert, an overwhelming tilt toward the new title.

In the same quarter the platform mix was 61% PC, 34% console and 5% mobile, while by region the Americas and Europe took 75%, Asia 16% and Korea 9%, putting overseas at 91%.

Black Desert generates item and subscription-based live-service revenue while Crimson Desert generates package and paid-expansion revenue, so the two pillars differ in revenue recognition and volatility.

At the second-quarter briefing management explained that for physical packages only a set portion of the amount net of distribution fees and logistics and promotion costs is booked as revenue, and 20% of the settlement amount is deferred for refund guarantees.

Subsidiary PAI completed the full disposal of Fenrys Creation, formerly CCP Games, on May 6, 2026, removing EVE Online from the portfolio, and 2026 figures were restated on a continuing-operations basis.

Competitively the company goes head to head with large Western and Japanese package studios rather than domestic peers, and on the second-quarter call it said it currently has no plan to file for a China publishing license.

On a confirmed-disclosure basis, annual results were revenue of KRW 385.7bn with operating profit of KRW 16.4bn in 2022, KRW 333.5bn with an operating loss of KRW 16.4bn in 2023, KRW 342.4bn with an operating loss of KRW 12.3bn in 2024, and KRW 365.6bn with an operating loss of KRW 14.8bn in 2025.

Three of those four years were operating-loss years, and the 2025 operating margin of minus 4.1% reflected a structure in which Black Desert alone could not cover development and labor costs.

Net income often moved out of step with operating results: despite operating losses, owners' net income was KRW 60.3bn in 2024 and KRW 15.2bn in 2023, before swinging to a net loss of KRW 8.4bn in 2025.

Quarterly, the swing was abrupt, from revenue of KRW 79.6bn and an operating loss of KRW 11.8bn in the second quarter of 2025 to revenue of KRW 328.5bn and operating profit of KRW 212.1bn in the first quarter of 2026, a 64.6% operating margin.

The second quarter of 2026 brought revenue of KRW 192.6bn and operating profit of KRW 67.6bn for a 35.1% margin, a sharp year-on-year improvement but roughly one third of the prior quarter's profit.

Management attributed the decline to a lower average selling price as channels that book only part of the sale as revenue gained weight, timing gaps between physical package sales and revenue recognition, and the fading launch effect, adding that deferred revenue will be recognized progressively in the second half.

On costs, of KRW 125.0bn of second-quarter operating expenses, labor costs were KRW 74.8bn, up 94.8% quarter on quarter largely on one-off Crimson Desert launch bonuses, while commissions of KRW 30.6bn and advertising of KRW 9.1bn fell 28.0% and 61.1% respectively.

The balance sheet improved, with the debt-to-equity ratio down from 74.8% in 2022 to 43.8% in 2025, and operating cash flow turned from minus KRW 5.4bn in 2024 to plus KRW 23.9bn in 2025.

Combined owners' net income over the four quarters from the third quarter of 2025 through the second quarter of 2026 was KRW 271.3bn, most of it earned in the first half of 2026 when the new launch was concentrated, which matters when judging earnings quality.

Korea's game industry, having hit growth limits with mobile massively multiplayer role-playing games and probability-item monetization, is shifting toward PC and console multiplatform releases and direct sales in Western markets.

Crimson Desert is the flagship case of that shift, setting an unprecedented early sales pace for a Korean console game and showing that a new intellectual property can break into Western markets. That market, however, requires long development cycles and heavy budgets, with large downside if a title misses.

Lee Jun-ho of Hana Securities said in May 2026 that among titles slated for the second half none qualified as a major expected hit once scale and anticipation were weighed, leaving Korean publishers reliant on extending the life of existing games.

Consistent with that, after a first half packed with large console and PC launches, the second half is being led by mobile role-playing and idle titles. On competitive intensity, Rockstar Games' large open-world title is scheduled for November 19, making a contest for year-end user time and spending unavoidable.

Gamescom 2026 was the largest ever, with exhibition space sold out for the first time; Pearl Abyss shared a booth with Samsung Electronics and its developer session drew 320 pre-registrations against a 150-seat cap.

On the other hand, rising graphics processing unit prices driven by artificial intelligence chip demand and possible console price increases are cited as potential swing factors for high-spec package game demand.

At the second-quarter briefing the company cut 2026 guidance to revenue of KRW 709.8bn-743.8bn from KRW 879.0bn-975.4bn and operating profit to KRW 315.5bn-345.2bn from KRW 487.6bn-572.6bn, implying an operating margin of 44.4%-46.4%.

Adding the confirmed quarters, first-half revenue was KRW 521.1bn and operating profit KRW 279.7bn, so meeting the revised guidance would require second-half revenue of KRW 188.7bn-222.7bn and operating profit of KRW 35.8bn-65.5bn.

The core second-half driver is Crimson Desert's first paid expansion, Charting the Unknown, unveiled at Sony's State of Play on September 3 with pre-orders open and a simultaneous global release on October 16.

It is priced at KRW 27,800, is digital-download only, and comes with a discount for existing owners and pre-order bonuses.

Earlier, on August 25, a free Enhanced update reinforcing the story and adding voice languages coincided with the first post-launch 20% discount, lifting the game to seventh on Steam's global sales chart with 37,000 concurrent users over the first weekend after the reveal.

On platform expansion, a Nintendo Switch 2 version targets the first half of 2027, while Black Desert reinforces live service with a large second-half update including the new Agent class and a region expansion.

Next title DOKEV is in development for a second-half 2028 launch with full marketing including hands-on demos planned from the second half of 2027, and PLAN 8 follows a two-to-three-year release spacing.

On shareholder returns, a KRW 100bn treasury share trust runs from June 9 to December 9, 2026 (KRW 32.3bn executed as of August 10, a 32.3% completion rate), 1,403,945 shares equal to half of previously held treasury stock were cancelled on June 12, and a first dividend is planned based on fiscal 2026 results at the greater of KRW 10bn annually or 10% of net income.