[UPDATE - May 6, 2025] CCP Games has announced a rebrand into Fenris Creations and a partnership with Google DeepMind.
[ORIGINAL STORY] Pearl Abyss, the developer of the commercially successful open world game Crimson Desert (and also known for the MMORPG Black Desert), has announced its decision to sell EVE Online and its studio back to CCP Games CEO Hilmar Veigar Pétursson for around $120 million. A rumor about Pearl Abyss selling CCP Games originally circulated almost a year ago, though back then it suggested the goal was to shop the studio around. Clearly, that option failed, and selling back to the original owners was the most sensible choice.
In a statement to Korean media Inven Global, a Pearl Abyss spokesperson explained:
Although the two companies had been striving to strengthen global business competitiveness under independent management principles, after considering mid- to long-term growth strategies, we judged that selling to the current management would be beneficial for both companies. We are keeping the possibility of future collaboration open after the sale. The price was determined objectively by comprehensively considering CCP Games' current business structure and market conditions. While the acquisition was a sound strategic decision at the time to secure global IP and diversify our portfolio, the global gaming business environment and our company's strategic priorities have shifted significantly since then.
More information is expected to be shared next week during a dedicated investors call.
Pearl Abyss acquired CCP Games on September 6, 2018 for $225 million plus up to $200 million in a deferred performance-based buyout, so CCP Games definitely came out on top. Admittedly, those performance-based extras were likely never triggered due to persistent operating losses. While EVE Online itself did well enough, the studio's many failed projects, including Dust 514, EVE Valkyrie, EVE Legion, and Project Nova, continuously brought in losses. Even the latest attempts, the survival spin-off EVE Frontier and the new first-person shooter Vanguard, aren't exactly setting the gaming world on fire so far, and the mobile titles EVE Echoes and EVE Galaxy Conquest also failed to carve their own niches.
Perhaps this is the best outcome for everyone involved, then.
About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief. In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech's gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews. Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications. His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.
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