Here in the West, the MMO studios are struggling, but two companies in South Korea are becoming so rich with online games that they are bursting at the seams. Netmarble (Lineage 2 Revolution) and Pearl Abyss (Black Desert) are building massive new headquarters and spending millions of US dollars.
Which studios are rolling in money? In Korea, there has been a huge shift from PC to mobile for some years now. The two MMO giants there, Nexon and NCSoft, are slowly making this transition – both companies were leaders in South Korea for years on PC.
However, the major pioneer in mobile is “Netmarble.” They have always been a mobile company. Their CEO is considered a visionary and somewhat of a Korean Steve Jobs.
Netmarble has developed games like Lineage 2 Revolution, Marvel Future Fight, and Dragon Ball Online. They have been rolling in money for years.
The second hit studio in South Korea is currently Pearl Abyss, the company behind Black Desert. They made so much money with the mobile version of Black Desert Online in Asia, that they were able to buy the company behind EVE Online.
Both are currently constructing new headquarters in South Korea, as MMO Culture reports. This is based on Korean media reports.
This is what Netmarble is currently building: Netmarble is investing 180 million US dollars to construct a new development building outside of Seoul. The building will cover 6 underground floors and 15 above-ground floors.
Here they want to house some of their teams and also create space for IT startups. Netmarble wants to conduct research on artificial intelligence and “Big Data Analysis” here. But that’s just the “annex.”
Additionally, they have spent 364 million US dollars on a new headquarters in the “Guro District” in Seoul. This is supposed to feature 39 floors.
This is how the new headquarters of Pearl Abyss is supposed to be: Pearl Abyss is also building a headquarters in the Guro District of Seoul.
The land alone costs 21.3 million US dollars. They are spending 156 million dollars for the new headquarters.
According to reports, the success of Black Desert and Black Desert Mobile has led to enormous expansion, including in the workforce. Therefore, a new headquarters is needed. This will have 5 underground floors and 15 above-ground floors.
The building is supposed to be completed in 2021.
While many MMO studios here are reorienting or have to save money, it seems that Pearl Abyss’s expansion continues:
