If you’re still reeling over the news that Black Desert is unceremoniously deleting its battle royale mode, Shadow Arena, from the game tomorrow, take heart: The rest of the game is going really well, at least if you’re counting by revenue and playerbase. Pearl Abyss announced this morning that it’s now “surpassed $1 billion in gross sales four years after its initial release” with 18 million registered users globally across 150 countries. That’s largely thanks to Black Desert on PC and Xbox One, but Black Desert Mobile is slated to release globally “by the end of 2019” too.
Apparently, Pearl Abyss has grown to 700 employees across its multiple hubs, and it’s still fleshing out that California base it announced last year. Incidentally, the PR mentions Pearl Abyss’ collaboration with CCP Games, which it purchased last fall.
“Following Pearl Abyss’ acquisition of CCP Games in November 2018, the Icelandic developer has continued to operate its own titles as an independent entity with studios in ReykjavÃk, London and Shanghai. Capitalizing on their common focus on MMO game development and live services for global audiences, the two companies are sharing knowledge on game development and strategy across the board while exploring ways to create synergy. Pearl Abyss and CCP Games recently announced their first project together, the introduction of Korean localization into EVE Online in Q4 2019.”
