Black Desert Online developer acquires Eve Online creator
Pearl Abyss, the South Korean developer behind the mmorpg Black Desert Online, has acquired Icelandic CCP Games. That company is known for the space game Eve Online, which came out in 2003.
In the announcement, the parties do not mention a takeover amount, but VentureBeat reports that it concerns an amount of 425 million dollars, which is approximately 365 million euros. CCP Games will continue to exist independently, with studios in Reykjavik, London and Shanghai. In doing so, ‘development and publishing expertise’ will be incorporated into Pearl Abyss’ current and future activities. CCP Games CEO Hilmar Veigar Pétursson said: “Pearl Abyss is a fast-growing company that has a lot to offer in terms of technology, capabilities and vision. I believe our companies can learn a lot from each other.”
The CEO also published a blog post about the acquisition on the Eve Online site. In it, he promises that the Eve community will always play an important role in decisions that affect the game. He says: “Right now, CCP Games is owned by three major investors. They have accompanied us on this journey with all the ups and downs for the past ten years and at some point investors have to do their job and sell the shares.” He also states that Pearl Abyss as a ‘nerdy Korean mmo maker’ will fit well with the culture of CCP Games.
The studio was founded 21 years ago and the PC mmorpg Eve Online is its most successful title. It is also known for titles such as Dust 514, Eve: Valkyrie and Gunjack. Last year, the company closed two studios and pulled out of developing VR titles, such as Valkyrie. In Eve Online, an average of 33,000 players were online at the same time in the past year. Most of the peaks were between 2009 and 2014. The latest expansion of the game is called Into The Abyss.
Black Desert Online from the studio Pearl Abyss is a fantasy game that was released for PC in Europe in 2016. According to VentureBeat, the game has 9.5 million players.
Video released by CCP Games in honor of Eve Online’s 15th anniversary