Pearl Abyss’s game has reportedly translated into substantial bonuses for the development team, because the South Korean studio seemingly did not expect results on this scale…
Although the physical sales performance of Crimson Desert in the United States was not strong enough to make a huge impact on the monthly sales charts there, it is close to certain that the game’s combined global physical and digital sales will go down as one of the year’s biggest-selling titles. More than 5 million copies have already been sold, and reports now suggest that developer Pearl Abyss is sharing part of the success with the entire development staff through major bonuses.
According to the Korean outlet MTN, every Pearl Abyss employee received a 5 million won bonus, roughly equivalent to 1,053,000 Hungarian forints, in celebration of Crimson Desert surpassing 5 million units sold. Pearl Abyss CEO Heo Jin-young said in a statement: “I express my deepest respect and gratitude to everyone who, through hard work, created a product that has generated such enthusiasm around the world, and I am paying a celebratory bonus for reaching 5 million copies sold to every employee who quietly fulfilled their duties in their own position. Our journey does not end here. The potential we confirmed today will be the strongest driving force helping us overcome whatever challenges await us in the future.”
Pearl Abyss is said to employ around 733 people, so the bonus bill is far from trivial if it truly covers every employee. But that amount is still minor compared with the value of having 733 people working happily toward a shared goal, and compared with what gestures like this can mean for Pearl Abyss’s reputation as a publisher.
This is a completely different attitude from what is usually seen at Western companies. Stories like this rarely seem to come out of those firms. More often, the picture there is one of CEOs pocketing massive annual bonuses while developers are shown the door the moment the first serious stumble arrives.
