[Click eStock] "Pearl Abyss, Must Consider 'Black Desert Mobile' China Launch Schedule"

Anticipated Releases Continue This Year... Strong Competitiveness in P2E and Metaverse Games
EBest Investment "Pearl Abyss Target Price Lowered from 150,000 KRW to 140,000 KRW"

[Asia Economy Reporter Gong Byung-sun] Ebest Investment & Securities has lowered the target price for Pearl Abyss. The delay in the Chinese launch schedule of Pearl Abyss's flagship game, "Black Desert Mobile," is expected to impact the stock price.

On the 20th, Ebest Investment & Securities maintained a "Buy" rating for Pearl Abyss but lowered the target price by 7% from 150,000 KRW to 140,000 KRW. The previous closing price was 107,500 KRW.

The launch schedule for Black Desert Mobile in China has been postponed. Originally planned for release in the fourth quarter of last year, it was delayed to March-April this year due to improvements in game completeness and optimization of the business model (BM). Researcher Seong Jong-hwa of Ebest Investment & Securities said, "The delay provided a reason for stock price adjustment," but added, "At this point, it is necessary to consider the re-scheduled Chinese mobile launch of Black Desert expected in March-April."

Several anticipated titles are set to be released this year. Following the Chinese launch of Black Desert Mobile in March-April, "Black Clover" will be unveiled in the third quarter. Black Clover is an animation massively multiplayer online role-playing game (RPG) developed based on the popular Japanese animation IP of the same name. Additionally, "Red Desert" is scheduled for release in the fourth quarter.

The competitiveness in Play to Earn (P2E) and metaverse games is also evaluated as excellent. Pearl Abyss is reportedly considering integrating a P2E system into the metaverse game "Dokkaebi." Researcher Seong explained, "Dokkaebi's core BM is item collection, making it suitable for an NFT-based P2E system integration," and added, "The overseas subsidiary CCP Games' 'EVE Online' is also appropriate for NFT-based P2E system integration."

Meanwhile, Ebest Investment & Securities estimated Pearl Abyss's fourth-quarter sales last year at 100.4 billion KRW, a 4.2% increase from the previous quarter, and operating profit at 10.5 billion KRW, a 2.3% increase over the same period. These figures are 12.47% and 53.33% below the respective market consensus estimates.