South Korean publisher Pearl Abyss has acquired Eve Online developer CCP for $425 million.
The Icelandic studio claims it will continue to operate independently while lending its development and publishing support to Pearl Abyss’ current and future projects.
Eve Online is a long-standing MMO launched back in 2003 that continues to attract hundreds of thousands of players to its unique brand of space politics and warfare.
In recent times CCP has been expanding the IP to mobile. To that end it has signed partnerships with Finnish developer PlayRaven to create Eve: War of Ascension and Chinese publisher NetEase for an AR-based mobile MMO,
Pearl Abyss meanwhile is best known for its own MMORPG Black Desert Online, which to date has attracted more than 10 million registered users. The company floated on the KOSDAQ in September 2017 and is currently valued at around $2.6 billion.
East meets West
“I have been seriously impressed with what Pearl Abyss has achieved ever since I first visited their website for Black Desert Online and subsequently became an avid player of the game,” said CCP CEO Hilmar Pétursson.
“Pearl Abyss is a fast-growing company with lots to offer in terms of technology, capability and vision. I believe our two companies have a lot to learn from each other. We are very excited to join forces with them and achieve great new heights for our companies, our games and – above all - our players.”
Pearl Abyss CEO Robin Jung added: “We are thrilled to have CCP Games join our team as Black Desert Online continues to branch out globally. CCP is a seasoned publisher with over 15 years of digital distribution experience and know-how.
“They have done an incredible job of engaging and maintaining their playerbase, which we aim to learn from and hope to integrate natively into Pearl Abyss’ general practices across all our games.
“I am confident CCP’s reputable IP and expertise in global publishing will help reaffirm our company’s dedication to developing and servicing the world’s best MMORPGs.”
