During its recent earnings report, developer Pearl Abyss has confirmed that its development priority has shifted to DokeV. Along with this, the studio is also working on its MMO shooter PLAN 8. The announcement comes as part of the core development team behind the open-world title Crimson Desert, having wrapped up its work. Along with this, the studio has also outlined a plan to maintain a release cycle of a new game every two to three years.
Pearl Abyss has also noted that it plans on continuing work on Crimson Desert with its ongoing slate of post-launch updates. Through this, along with potential ports to more platforms, the studio hopes to expand the game’s market presence.
“Crimson Desert will continue to focus on enhancing user satisfaction and driving new sales through continuous updates, while expanding its market presence through platform expansion,” said the studio in its presentation. “In addition, we are currently exploring various ways to broaden the game to the next level, including [downloadable content]. We will share the details once the concrete plans are set.”
“Furthermore, DokeV and PLAN 8, two new titles are in development. With the goal of maintaining a new title release cycle of every two-to-three years, we will prioritize resources on DokeV to accelerate development. In addition, DokeV is currently in the pre-production stage, and we will share updates as development progresses.”
As for PLAN 8, Pearl Abyss has revealed that it is still in its conceptualization stages, and that development on it will likely kick off in earnest once more work on DokeV is done.
The announcement comes just a little over a month after studio boss Heo Jin-young revealed that the core team that worked on Crimson Desert has now moved its attention towards DokeV. He said that the team can now “pick up the pace,” and that it will take “about two to three years from the current timeline to completion and polishing.”
DokeV was originally unveiled all the way back in 2019 with a trailer showcasing how it would include just about every gameplay mechanic one could imagine, from monster catching to open-world exploration. The studio had revealed that it would revolve around players seeking out strange creatures named Dokebi, who get their strength from dreams.
In 2022, Pearl Abyss expressed hope that it would be able to launch DokeV and Crimson Desert in the same year. “DokeV, along with Crimson Desert, is being developed to meet our internal development roadmap,” he said the CEO at the time. “However, since this year our core development team is immersing itself in developing Crimson Desert, we will do our best so that for DokeV. We will be able to disclose additional information as they are done.”
In the meantime, the studio has confirmed that Crimson Desert has led to its highest quarterly revenues ever. In its earnings report, the company said that the open-world title accounted for a 420 percent year-on-year increase in revenue, and a 382.4 percent quarter-over-quarter increase. It has also confirmed that 94 percent of the studio’s total revenue for the most recent quarter came from overseas sales of its games, with North America and Europe making up 81 percent of the revenue.
