[Click eStock] "Pearl Abyss, Performance in China Is Crucial"

Possibility of Black Desert PC Obtaining Chinese License
eBest Investment & Securities "Pearl Abyss Target Price Raised from 92,000 KRW to 130,000 KRW"

[Asia Economy Reporter Gong Byung-sun] Pearl Abyss's third-quarter performance this year is expected to meet market consensus. Securities analysts say that Pearl Abyss's future performance depends on the Chinese game market.

On the 8th, Ebest Investment & Securities estimated Pearl Abyss's third-quarter sales to be 94.2 billion KRW, down 20.4% from the same period last year, and operating profit to be 8.3 billion KRW, down 79.6% during the same period. Although the results are somewhat below last year's, they meet the consensus. Pearl Abyss's sales and operating profit consensus are 94.5 billion KRW and 7.6 billion KRW, respectively, with Ebest Investment & Securities' estimates falling short by 0.4% and exceeding by 8.9%, respectively.

The securities industry is focusing on the possibility of launching Black Desert Mobile in the Chinese market in the future. Black Desert Mobile has been accepting pre-registrations for over two months since obtaining the game license (panho) on June 29. Foreign game companies must obtain a panho from the authorities to release games in China. Black Desert Mobile plans to conduct a Closed Beta Test (CBT) in November, followed by an Open Beta Test (OBT), and aims to commercialize within the year in China.

The success potential of Black Desert Mobile is considered high. Sung Jong-hwa, a researcher at Ebest Investment & Securities, explained, "Recently, there have been no highly anticipated traditional core MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game) new releases in China for a long time, so there is strong demand. Among Tencent's new releases this year, it is the top anticipated title, and Tencent has put great effort into obtaining the panho and has aggressive marketing plans." Accordingly, Ebest Investment & Securities expects Black Desert Mobile to launch in December and estimates the first quarter's average daily sales at 3.5 billion KRW.

There is also a possibility of Black Desert PC obtaining a Chinese panho. It is known that the Chinese publishing partner is actively preparing to acquire the panho for the Chinese release of Black Desert PC. Some speculate that it could be obtained as early as this year. If Black Desert PC is also released in the Chinese market, it is expected to contribute to performance as much as Black Desert Mobile.

Accordingly, Ebest Investment & Securities maintained a "Buy" rating on Pearl Abyss. The target price was raised from the previous 92,000 KRW to 130,000 KRW. The closing price on the previous day was 90,700 KRW.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.