After Being Branded "a Total Flop" and Hitting Limit-Down, Pearl Abyss Soars 17% on "Crimson Desert" Fever

[The Financial News] On the 27th, as the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) and KOSDAQ (Korea Securities Dealers Automated Quotations) both trade lower, Pearl Abyss is bucking the trend with a strong rally. The market appears to believe that the new title "Crimson Desert" has firmly entered a successful trajectory, pushing the share price higher.
As of 10:45 a.m. that day, Pearl Abyss was trading at 59,400 won, up 8,600 won (16.9%) from the previous session. The intraday high reached 59,500 won, putting the stock on the verge of breaking through the 60,000-won level.
The share price trend shifted dramatically around the launch of the new game "Crimson Desert." On news that "Crimson Desert," the follow-up to Pearl Abyss’s flagship title "Black Desert Online," would be released, the stock had been on a strong run since the start of the year, hitting a 52-week high of 71,500 won intraday on the 16th.
However, on the 19th, the day before launch, the stock hit its limit-down at 46,000 won after the game received lower-than-expected preliminary scores on Metacritic and became embroiled in controversy over undisclosed use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) assets.
The turnaround came in the sales figures. Contrary to the early harsh reviews, "Crimson Desert" became the first Korean game to sell 2 million copies on its release day and then surpassed 3 million copies within four days of launch, exceeding the industry’s estimated break-even point of 2.5–3 million copies.
After this news broke, the share price jumped more than 16% on the 25th, kicking off a rebound. It has since risen for two consecutive sessions, climbing into the upper 50,000-won range today.
On the back of the strong sales, securities firms are also rushing to raise their forecasts. NH Investment & Securities sharply increased its estimate for this year’s sales volume from 3.49 million to 5.26 million copies and raised its target price by 19% to 51,000 won. Meritz Securities maintained its buy rating and a target price of 62,000 won, stating, "The commercial success of 'Crimson Desert' is drawing global investors’ attention to Korean game companies."
Caution, however, remains strong. Samsung Securities set a target price of 42,000 won and kept its "hold" rating, while SK Securities maintained a "neutral" view, noting, "The expected release timing of the next title is a long way off, making it difficult to find support for the share price on the downside." As the gap until the next game after this launch is expected to last until 2028, many analysts say the key question is how long the current sales momentum can continue to support the stock.
bng@fnnews.com Kim Hee-sun Reporter