The MMORPG genre seems to have been on the decline and out of trend in Europe for 5 years now. However, in Korea, things are apparently going much better. The Black Desert developer Pearl Abyss is currently building a new, shiny, glittering office building right in the middle of Seoul.
This is Pearl Abyss: The developer studio is primarily known here for Black Desert. In Asia, the studio is so successful with a mobile version of Black Desert Online that they even purchased the company behind EVE Online.
The studio was founded only in 2010, but Pearl Abyss has huge plans for the future. They are developing a new engine to create the next generation of globally successful MMORPGs.
Apparently, their numerous employees need a new place to work. Therefore, the studio is now building a new headquarters in South Korea’s capital, Seoul.
After reports of the construction were already made in January, the building permits have now been granted, which is why construction will begin this December.
This is how big the new studio of Pearl Abyss will be
This is what the building is supposed to look like: A huge skyscraper will be the new workplace for hundreds of employees. The headquarters is supposed to have 20 floors, 5 of which will be underground.
The construction time is estimated to be about a year. The building is expected to be completed in February 2021.
What does the new headquarters offer? The studio has already announced plans detailing what features the new building will have. Here are the highlights:
- A parking garage with 604 spaces
- A daycare for employees who also have a toddler
- Two floors full of sports facilities, such as a basketball court, massage rooms, and a fitness center
- A floor that will be used entirely as a cafeteria
- An office where streams can be recorded. Music for the games will also be developed here
- A large hall where all employees can gather for a big meeting
This is what makes the construction project so special: Here in Germany and Europe, it is hardly imaginable that a developer studio of MMORPGs could undertake such a construction. The financial resources simply lack.
Even developer giants like Blizzard are having to cut back and various MMORPGs are shutting down. While the demand for new theme park MMORPGs in Europe and the USA is high, the last games released here were all very expensive and had problems:
- The last major western MMORPG “WildStar” has failed and has since been shut down
- Even The Elder Scrolls Online had major problems at release and needed a complete overhaul to become successful
- Even “mega-licenses” like Star Wars or Lord of the Rings were not the hits the companies had hoped for, although they were eventually embraced and loved by fans
A completely different world is showing up there in Asia. Here MMORPGs are thriving – not anymore on the PC, but as mobile games.
Games like Perfect World consistently top the mobile game charts. The struggling NCSoft has turned around overnight through Lineage M.
Black Desert Mobile by Pearl Abyss is also part of that. So it’s not surprising that the developers can now build such a huge headquarters.
