"Crimson Desert" Powered by Proprietary Engine "Blackspace"
"Maximizing Creative Freedom, Surpassing Limits of Immersion"
The development of its own game engine is rooted in the philosophy that "to create what users want as quickly and properly as possible, it is necessary to build the required tools in-house." The proprietary engine also contributed to the success of "Black Desert," which was released in 2014.
On July 30, Pearl Abyss announced that it had recently introduced the background behind its decision to take a different path from others, without relying on commercial engines, through its recruitment YouTube channel "Pearcruit."
Since its founding, Pearl Abyss has focused on developing its own game engine. The starting point was the question, "Can we satisfactorily realize the world we want to express with a commercial engine?"
Pearl Abyss explained, "It was a strategic choice to secure an environment that could maximize not only technical independence but also development capabilities and creativity. Someone wrote code, someone drew characters, and someone even wore a motion capture suit and performed actions themselves. By observing each other's work and discussing together, we focused on what was most needed at the moment."
In this way, a team of just about ten developers simultaneously created both the engine and the game, resulting in the release of "Black Desert." With rapid updates, overwhelming graphics, and vast content, it became a global hit enjoyed by 55 million cumulative users worldwide.
Afterward, Pearl Abyss launched the "Black Desert Remastered" project in 2018. As a live game with numerous users connecting in real time, the company introduced a "selectable option" approach that implemented new technologies without disrupting the existing user experience.
Imagining what the game would look like if recreated with current technology, they also made significant changes to the engine. By applying physically based rendering, image-based lighting, and advanced post-processing techniques, they showcased completely different aspects of the same locations and characters, earning praise from users.
The upcoming title, "Crimson Desert," required an even broader world. Pearl Abyss stated that, while considering how different genres and worlds could be best created, they began developing their second engine, Blackspace.
Pearl Abyss said, "To incorporate real-time changing character facial expressions, the performance to handle battles involving hundreds of characters simultaneously, and the density that makes an entire city feel alive in the Blackspace engine, we redesigned every aspect of the engine, including graphics, rendering, artificial intelligence (AI), and networking."
They added, "All of this was possible because we internalized the technology rather than outsourcing it. Our proprietary engine is not simply a technology, but a language of expression and the foundation that grants creative freedom."
Striving to maintain the quality of the game and its service, Pearl Abyss stated, "At the end of questions such as 'Is there a better way?' and 'What technology is needed to deliver this scene more vividly?' Pearl Abyss games continue to evolve alongside engine technology."
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