South Korean Pearl Abyss acquires a European asset. The developer of one of the brightest MMORPGs of recent times buys the Icelandic CCP Games. The latter is famous for the space MMO blockbuster Eve Online.
The amount of the transaction is not disclosed in the official announcement. However, our colleagues from GamesIndustry assure that we are talking about $425 million. This amount already includes cash and bonuses if CCP Games products achieve certain financial results.
After the conclusion of the deal, which is scheduled for October 12, CCP Games will continue to operate independently. However, it is reported that the company plans to share its expertise on development and publication with the future owner.
Eve Online
The deal was a natural event in the light of the Icelandic studio’s Asian ambitions.
In August of this year, the company announced that it was working with the Chinese NetEase on a mobile version of Eve Online. The contract with Pearl Abyss will open up opportunities for CCP Games to gain a foothold in the Korean market.
As for the authors of Black Desert, for them the deal is getting an asset that will help with the adaptation and preparation for the Western market of games created originally for the local market. The latter is especially important in light of two points.
First: now Pearl Abyss is preparing a worldwide release of the mobile Black Desert, which earns $26 million a month in its native market. And the company is interested in the fact that the world release also turned out to be loud.
Black Desert
Second: the company has before its eyes not the most successful experience of Netmarble, whose Lineage 2: Revolution earns nine tenths of revenue from the Asia-Pacific region.
And commercial results in Europe and the United States are insignificant against this background. It seems clear that Pearl Abyss does not want such a fate for its hit. She needs financial success in the Western market, and therefore expertise in it.