Pearl Abyss, the developer of Black Desert, is set to go live today on Korea’s second board, Kosdaq. Each share is estimated to be worth around USD 70.66 to USD 90.95, with 1.8 million shares to be issued. Employees of Pearl Abyss are said to be entitled to 25,000 shares. If successful, the IPO will bring in around USD 160 million. Company founder Kim Dae-il (below) holds 47% of the shares.
The success of Pearl Abyss has been quite a shock to some industry watchers, since the gaming market is dominated by mobile games these few years. Black Desert is only available on Windows PC, requires good system specs, and also a stable internet connection. The console (Xbox One and PlayStation 4) and mobile versions of the game are expected to launch only next year.
Pearl Abyss is set to become the 5th largest Korean games company after Nexon, Netmarble, NCsoft, NHN, and Com2Us. According to reports, Black Desert now has over 7 million players globally, with an operating profit of USD 40 million in 2016, up from USD 19 million in 2015. Black Desert is scheduled to launch in the MENA region and Southeast Asia later this year.
