Game publisher Pearl Abyss reports 20% drop in net profit in Q3

Pearl Abyss reported a 20-percent drop in net profit during the third quarter compared to the same period last year due to investment losses, the game publisher said Wednesday.

The company’s July-to-September net profit came in at 21.3 billion won ($15.6 million), beating the 6.9-billion-won market consensus compiled by FnGuide.

Operating profit rose 17 percent on year to 12 billion won, beating analyst forecast of 2.5 billion won. Revenue inched up by 1 percent compared to the year prior, coming in at 97.3 billion won. Of the revenue, 82 percent came from outside of Korea.

Pearl Abyss is best known for its Black Desert massively multiplayer online roleplaying game (MMORPG). The game was responsible for 76.6 billion won of the revenue, and 19.4 billion won came from the space-action MMORPG Eve Online.

New games may not be coming until the end of next year, according to CEO James Heo.

Crimson Desert, a console and PC-based open-world action game, was initially planned for release during the fourth quarter of 2021, but was indefinitely pushed due to pandemic-related issues, according to the company.

“We expect to finish developing Crimson Desert by the latter half of next year, but we will have to consult with partnering companies on when to release the game after reviewing market conditions,” Heo said during a conference call on Wednesday morning. “We will announce the date when it is decided.”

Much-anticipated 3-D online game Doke V is likely to come after Crimson Desert, Heo said.

“It is highly likely Doke V will be released after next year because of the time it takes to develop Crimson Desert.”

BY YOON SO-YEON [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]