BLACK DESERT ONLINE SEES PROMINENT SURGE OF NEW, RETURNING PLAYERS

Pearl Abyss’s MMORPG Experiences 267% Increase in New Players and 335% Spike in Returning Players in Wake of Festa Event and Land of the Morning Light Expansion

Manhattan Beach, CA — July 13, 2023 — On the heels of Land of the Morning Light expansion coupled with last week’s popular Festa Event, Korean publisher and developer Pearl Abyss has experienced a dramatic surge of new and returning players worldwide.

In the last month, Black Desert Online witnessed a 267% increase in new players and a 335% in returning players globally, based on Pearl Abyss’ internal analytics. In one week on Steam, Black Desert Online reached number 13 ranking, jumping 50 spots in the U.S. Top Sellers category and hit its highest peak of 33,546 concurrent players in two years (33,859 players in July 2021). In Europe the following countries surged into the Top Sellers category: Belgium: 4; Norway: 5; Germany: 8; Spain: 9; France: 12; Netherlands: 13; UK: 14; Finland: 14; Sweden: 15; and Austria: 17.

In the last two weeks on streaming platform Twitch, Black Desert Online catapulted into the top 10 Trending Games bracket with 5,007,728 hours viewers watching (a 118.9% increase over the last two weeks), and a peak of 53,978 viewers (a 73.2% jump over the last two weeks), according to Twitch stats and analysis site, Sullygnome.

Pearl Abyss’ dedicated development team has updated its live MMORPG weekly for the past seven years in the Americas and Europe (8-plus years in Korea), giving players a constant stream of quality of life improvements, new content, gifts, and more.

The sudden wave of players is a result of its highly-rated Land of the Morning Light expansion (81 on Metacritic) – Korea’s Joseon era-based update based on boss battles, authentic landscapes, and folkloric narratives – prominent influencers’ renewed interest in Black Desert Online’s evolution, and the recent Festa Event, which surprised attendees with a slew of popular announcements.

At the Black Desert Festa, attended by 400 Adventurers and which took place in Suwon, Korea, Pearl Abyss unveiled: 

• The unprecedented 600-player Rose War, a 300 v 300 PvP addition that stoked players’ imaginations by focusing on combat and strategy without the requirements to build fortresses and other fortifications before battle
• A Boss Blitz Update including the powerful serpent Imoogi
• The instant availability of Maegu class’ Awakening form
• A new season for Arena of Solare, 3v3 ranked PvP content
• And the unprecedented gift of a free Dream Horse, an incredibly difficult creature to obtain. Adventurers can acquire and use “Vipiko’s Calling Horn” to magically transform a rocking horse into one of three Dream Horses. (Those who have not claimed the item yet can find it in the Challenge tab until July 26.)

Pearl Abyss’ diligent focus on listening to and rewarding its players was shown in a heartfelt open letter written by Black Desert Online’s Lead Producer Jaehee Kim.

For more information on Black Desert Online, please visit the official website. To stay up to date with the latest events in Black Desert, follow the game on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Full PR Kit for Land of the Morning Light can be found here.

ABOUT BLACK DESERT IP
The Black Desert IP is Pearl Abyss‘ open-world action MMORPG franchise with cutting-edge visuals and skill-based combat that redefines the genre. With the most developed character customization system of any game currently on the market, users can break out of the norm and make unique characters that truly represent themselves. Its intuitive controls, beautifully designed world, and extensive lore will excite both newcomers and veterans of MMO games and action RPGs. Pearl Abyss is currently servicing the Black Desert IP, which has gained 50 million players across the world on PC, mobile, and console.   

ABOUT PEARL ABYSS
Established in 2010, Pearl Abyss is a leading developer in the game industry with its renowned MMORPG franchise Black Desert, which is available on PC, mobile, and console. All of Pearl Abyss’ games are built on the company’s proprietary engine and are renowned for cutting-edge graphics. Pearl Abyss is currently developing Crimson Desert, DokeV, and PLAN 8 using its next-generation game engine and is poised to grow its overseas market. More information about Pearl Abyss is available at: www.pearlabyss.com.

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MEDIA CONTACTS
TriplePoint on behalf of Pearl Abyss
pearlabyss@triplepointpr.com

Douglass Perry
Head of Public Relations, Pearl Abyss America
douglass.perry@pearlabyss.com