Pearl Abyss shows 'Black Desert Mobile'
Pearl Abyss’ planning director Ham Young-chul speaks during a press conference at GS Tower in Yeoksam, Seoul, Thursday. / Courtesy of Pearl Abyss
By Yoon Sung-won
Pearl Abyss will launch the mobile version of its online role-playing game (RPG) “Black Desert” in Korea in January, the game development firm said Thursday.
The new game, dubbed “Black Desert Mobile,” has attracted much attention from around the world as the original has drawn popularity in overseas markets, especially in North America, Europe and Taiwan. The company said it plans to release the game globally following the launch in Korea.
“We are willing to roll out the mobile game in overseas markets as soon as possible,” said Ham Young-chul, planning director at Pearl Abyss, during a press conference in Seoul, Thursday. “We are open to meeting specific demands of users in each region.”
Citing the recent debut of Netmarble Games’ mobile RPG “Lineage 2: Revolution” in the U.S. market, Ham said, “I believe Korean-made mobile RPGs are ready to boost their presence on the global stage, following the past success of computer online RPGs worldwide.”
Netmarble Games launched its mobile RPG in 54 overseas markets including North America, Europe, Oceania and Middle East on Nov. 15. The game was ranked 14th top-grossing game on Apple Appstore’s chart as of Wednesday, Ham said.
“We are developing Black Desert Mobile to inherit entertaining content such as weapons enhancement and skills system from the original version and added new user interfaces optimized for the mobile platform,” Pearl Abyss producer Cho Yong-min said.
“Users will be able to get most resources necessary to enjoy key contents of the game through time and efforts even when they don’t spend actual money on it. This means we will not sell items that will instantly make characters strong.”
A poster of Pearl Abyss' new game "Black Desert Mobile" / Courtesy of Pearl Abyss
When it was launched in December 2014, “Black Desert” had a slow start in the Korean market. But thanks to an aggressive drive for global markets by its publisher Kakao Games and continuous content updates by Pearl Abyss, the game has become one of the most successful Korean-made online RPGs.
Developed by Kim Dae-il, who is the chief game producer at Pearl Abyss, "Black Desert" has drawn favorable reviews worldwide for its advanced graphics, combat system and character customization as well as extensive playable content.
The game has drawn more than 7 million users globally in three years and has posted 340 billion won in cumulative sales as of September.
On the back of its global success, Pearl Abyss also scored a record 45.5 billion won in operating profit last year, up from 21.7 billion won in 2015.
The success of “Black Desert” in overseas markets has also led to the revival of the game business of Kakao, which is its sole distributor, with its sales reaching 80 billion won in the second quarter this year.
Since then, the company has said it will make “Black Desert” playable not just on the computer but also on mobile devices and game consoles such as Microsoft Xbox.
Pearl Abyss said, however, it will publish the mobile version on its own without a third-party distributor, aiming at gaining bigger margins.
High expectations over the new mobile game are boosting the stock value of Pearl Abyss, which went public on the Seoul bourse on Sept. 14. Its stock price opened at around 92,700 won ($85.48) on its initial public offering. But as of Thursday, the company closed at 177,500 won, up 7.06 percent from the day before.
A game industry source said, “Adding to the expectations over the new mobile game, the company’s value may increase further once the original Black Desert receives permission for service in China on the improving Sino-Korean relations.”