The publisher for Black Desert China was finally revealed 2 weeks ago to be Snail Games, a decision which definitely shocked many gamers. With the dust settled, local gaming media attempted to seek out answers from both Snail Games and developer PearlAbyss, and we have translated and compiled some of them below. There is currently no launch schedule for Black Desert China.
Q: Why was the decision made to bring Black Desert into China?
Snail Games: We announced “sandbox client games” strategic plan back in 2016, and by that time we had games such as Age of Wushu 2 and Dark and Light in the pipeline. We wanted to cover all aspects of the game genres and content for this plan, and Pearl Abyss understood the intention as well.
Furthermore, Black Desert achieved much popularity and success overseas, and is highly anticipated in China. As a mature product, Snail Games wanted to bring the game in both for the players, and also extending our strategic plan.
Q: Many players from China are now playing in other servers, even private ones. Any plans on recalling them?
Snail Games: Black Desert took a long time for its China announcement and players are suffering latency issues in overseas servers, which is something regrettable. We will definitely be planning events to recall all these players to support the local server.
Q: The Chinese regulatory office will certainly have issues with some visual aspects of Black Desert. If these elements are edited, would you think Black Desert is still attractive to Chinese gamers?
PearlAbyss: There is certainly skin shown in some of the costumes, but not all. Costumes are purely in Black Desert as vanity items, which players in other servers can attest to. However, we will definitely respect each region’s legal requirements for localized content.
Q: Will Black Desert China have its own unique localized content?
PearlAbyss: Black Desert is currently serviced as a global project, with the various versions very close to each other. This is to allow gamers from everywhere to enjoy the latest updated content. Hence, there are currently no plans to develop unique content for the China server. But we will discuss plans with Snail Games, and perhaps there will be a unique costume, but that is not yet confirmed.
Q: Black Desert currently only has a basic awakening system. Will we be seeing stage 2 or even 3 of awakening?
PearlAbyss: At Taiwan, we previously revealed stage 2 of the awakening system, known as “Skills Combination”. We will not only work on more new classes, but also expand the awakening system to bring new gameplay experiences to players.
Also, we do not want to just stop at having new looks for characters through awakening, we are also seeking new features which will allow players to customize characters. The ultimate goal is to have an ever-changing system through awakening.
Q: Why was the decision made to choose Snail Games as the publishing partner in China?
PearlAbyss: We have been talking to Chinese publishers over the past 4 years, and many have shown interest in operating Black Desert. After much thought, we decided to sign with Snail Games as the company has much experience both in publishing and development, and also have the same thoughts as us in many aspects. Hence, the decision was made.
