Pearl Abyss will launch its open-world action-adventure game Crimson Desert, developed over seven years, on the global market on March 20. The release goes beyond unveiling a new title and will test whether Pearl Abyss can break away from its reliance on a single intellectual property (IP), Black Desert. Observers also see the success or failure of Crimson Desert as a potential turning point in showing whether Korean games can prove competitiveness in the console package market beyond mobile and massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs).

◆Tops Steam global sales ranking a day before launch

According to the industry on March 20, Crimson Desert ranked No. 1 globally on Steam's top-selling games chart as of March 19, a day before launch. The top-selling chart is based on Steam's daily sales revenue. The game rose from No. 5 worldwide on March 9 in 10 days, beating major games already in service on pre-order revenue alone. Its Steam wishlist count exceeded 3 million.

This trend became pronounced after an embargo on preview evaluations by major overseas media and creators was lifted on March 4. More than 10 percent of total pre-orders were concentrated on March 17 alone, and this was analysed as being influenced by a technology analysis video on the BlackSpace Engine released that day by North American IT channel Digital Foundry. A package-centric revenue model that excludes randomised items is also cited as a factor that resonated positively with users in North America and Europe. That is why some analysis says hands-on evaluations and technology verification videos combined to drive pre-orders.

◆Metacritic score 78...open world and visuals praised, story and controls remain tasks

However, the official review score released on March 19 was not as high as expected. With the review embargo lifted, Metacritic posted a score of 78 for the PC version of Crimson Desert. Given the seven-year development period and high pre-launch expectations, some assessments say the result is somewhat disappointing. A notable point is the wide divergence in ratings. Some outlets gave it 100, while others scored it in the 45 to 60 range, showing sharply split opinions.

The open-world design and visuals were praised. Many outlets rated the game's setting, the continent of Pywel, as one of the most vibrant open worlds in recent years, and they also spoke positively about the free exploration experience and graphics quality. The combat system was also cited as a strength. Satisfaction with combat when mastered and challenging boss battles were mentioned as factors that lifted scores.

By contrast, the story and characters were cited as weak points. Several outlets said the narrative direction is unclear and immersion in key figures is somewhat lacking. Some also pointed to many errand-style quests close to repetitive MMORPG-style tasks, saying they break the game's flow. Control responsiveness, links between complex systems and some bugs were mentioned as areas needing improvement in terms of completeness.

Technical assessments of Pearl Abyss' in-house BlackSpace Engine were positive. Digital Foundry, which is used as reference material by Sony, Microsoft and Nvidia, said: "It is rare to maintain stable performance while implementing a ray tracing-based lighting system in an open world of this scale." In terms of performance, it is known to deliver 4K resolution and 60 frames per second on the PS5 Pro, while variable operation of 45 frames per second or higher is possible on the standard PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. On PC, it expanded the optimisation range down to the level of a GTX 1060.

◆From Black Desert to a two-track IP structure

From a management perspective, Crimson Desert's performance is directly linked to Pearl Abyss' structural shift. Pearl Abyss has relied on the single IP of Black Desert for more than 12 years. It returned to profitability in the third quarter last year, but there has been a steady view that a single-IP structure has structural limits in reducing earnings volatility. If Crimson Desert establishes itself, a shift to a two-pillar IP operating structure becomes possible.

There are also forecasts for sales. Meritz Securities forecast in a recent report that Crimson Desert will surpass sales of 5 million copies within the year after launch. Mirae Asset Securities also assumes annual sales of 5 million copies this year and expects first-quarter sales of 1.8 million copies. The broader securities industry estimates 3 million to 5 million copies this year. With Nexon's Ark Raiders having sold 12.4 million copies in two months after launch and Neowiz's Lies of P having sold a cumulative 11 million copies, they are mentioned as comparative benchmarks for gauging the commercial potential of K-console titles.

An industry official said: "If Crimson Desert delivers results globally, it could also bring changes to the direction of domestic game development, which has been focused on mobile and MMORPGs."