Pearl Abyss posted losses for a third straight year as higher development and marketing costs for its new title "Crimson Desert" weighed on results. The company is focusing its capabilities on the game, which is set for release next month.

Pearl Abyss said in an earnings release on Wednesday it posted fourth-quarter consolidated revenue of 95.5 billion won, an operating loss of 8.4 billion won and a net loss of 14.4 billion won for 2025. Fourth-quarter revenue fell 10.6 percent from the previous quarter and 0.2 percent from a year earlier.

Annual revenue rose 6.8 percent from a year earlier to 365.6 billion won. Operating loss and net loss were 14.8 billion won and 7.6 billion won, respectively, swinging to losses. The operating loss widened from 12.3 billion won a year earlier.

Cho Mi-young (조미영), Pearl Abyss chief financial officer, said on the earnings conference call, "In the first quarter of 2026, we will continue to deliver steady live services for Black Desert and EVE, while making every effort until the end for the successful launch of Crimson Desert."

Black Desert down, EVE up, resilience of an 11-year long-running game

By IP in the fourth quarter, Black Desert IP revenue was 63.0 billion won, down 20.8 percent from the previous quarter. Cho said, "We launched a new season and class, but sales were weak as the effect of last quarter's large-scale update faded."

EVE IP revenue, meanwhile, was 27.3 billion won, up 30.8 percent from the previous quarter. Cho said, "User engagement improved significantly after we introduced the Catalyst expansion pack, and we achieved the highest quarterly revenue since COVID."

In the fourth quarter, revenue by region was 16 percent in South Korea, 18 percent in Asia and 66 percent in North America and Europe. By platform, PC accounted for 82 percent, mobile 13 percent and console 5 percent.

Pearl Abyss updated Black Desert with new regions and classes in 2025 and released PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S versions. Black Desert Mobile posted higher revenue in the fourth quarter on the launch of a new season and the expansion of the Land of the Morning Light series. Cho stressed, "Black Desert revenue rose slightly from a year earlier even in its 11th year since launch, solidifying its position as a long-running game."

Crimson Desert wishlist tops 2 million, marketing to be stepped up in first quarter

Pearl Abyss is set to release "Crimson Desert" simultaneously worldwide on March 20, Korea time. The game has topped 2 million wishlists on major platforms including Steam and is being cited as a highly anticipated global title.

Pearl Abyss CEO Heo Jin-young (허진영) said, "Crimson Desert is set to be released next month after a development period of about 7 years since it was first unveiled at G-Star in 2019," adding, "Many global media partners such as Sony and Epic Store have picked it as the most anticipated game this year, and expectations continue to rise."

Heo said, "Since the gold master announcement, we have been raising expectations for the game through cooperation with partners and media interviews," adding, "From the end of February, we plan to hold preview events for global media and influencers and showcase diverse content that has not been revealed before."

Cho said, "With Crimson Desert's release approaching in the first quarter, we are carrying out various marketing activities that can lead to actual sales, including collaboration with media, so related costs will rise compared with usual." She added, "After the release of Crimson Desert, marketing costs will fall to the quarterly average level, and on an annual basis it will not be a significantly burdensome level."

Mobile remaster and DokeV to be unveiled

Black Desert, which marks its 12th anniversary this year, will improve content in the first quarter, including an overhaul of alchemy stones, and hold a large-scale 10th anniversary event in North America and Europe. Black Desert Mobile will carry out a large-scale remaster to upgrade graphics, systems and the overall play environment to mark its eighth anniversary.

The next title DokeV will disclose its development status at an appropriate time this year. Heo said, "We are rapidly building assets based on the BlackSpace Engine, so after Crimson Desert's release we will assign many developers to the DokeV team to speed up development."

On the timing of DokeV's release, Heo said, "Considering the experience of preparing for Crimson Desert's release, even after the game was completed we needed at least about 1 year of release preparation time, so it appears it will take about 2 years after Crimson Desert's release."

He also said, "As the BlackSpace Engine has reached the stabilization stage, from the next title DokeV we now have an environment where we can focus only on game development itself," adding, "After Crimson Desert, we plan to release DokeV and Plan 8 sequentially, while also pursuing expansions such as DLC and multiplayer depending on market needs."