Pearl Abyss, det koreanske utviklerselskapet bak Black Desert Online, kommer i løpet av de neste ukene til å kjøpe opp Eve Online-utgiveren CCP Games. Dette ble annonsert via en pressemelding hvor Hilmar Veigar Pétursson, CEO for CCP, presiserte at begge selskapene kommer til å fungere uavhengig av hverandre til tross for eierbyttet.
I den offisielle pressemeldingen står det:
"Today, Black Desert Online developer Pearl Abyss announced that it will acquire CCP Games, the creators of popular spaceship MMORPG EVE Online. The deal outlines that CCP Games will continue to operate independently as a developer with studios in Reykjavik, London and Shanghai, while integrating the company's extensive development and publishing expertise into Pearl Abyss' operations for all current and future projects."
CEO for Pearl Abyss, Robin Jung, forklarer: "We are thrilled to have CCP Games join our team as Black Desert Online continues to branch out globally. CCP is a seasoned publisher with over 15 years of digital distribution experience and know-how. They have done an incredible job of engaging and maintaining their playerbase, which we aim to learn from and hope to integrate natively into Pearl Abyss' general practices across all our games. I am confident CCP's reputable IP and expertise in global publishing will help reaffirm our company's dedication to developing and servicing the world's best MMORPGs."
"I have been seriously impressed with what Pearl Abyss has achieved ever since I first visited their website for Black Desert Online and subsequently became an avid player of the game," sa CCP Games CEO Hilmar Veigar Pétursson. "Pearl Abyss is a fast-growing company with lots to offer in terms of technology, capability and vision. I believe our two companies have a lot to learn from each other. We are very excited to join forces with them and achieve great new heights for our companies, our games and - above all - our players."
Birgir Már Ragnarsson fra Novator Partners, som også sitter i styret hos CCP, kommenterte: "As lead investor in CCP for over 13 years alongside General Catalyst and NEA, we've seen CCP go from being a few dozen people strong to employing hundreds all over the world, with an ever-increasing customer base and multiple titles. CEO Hilmar V. Pétursson and his dedicated team have built a company that Novator and its partners are proud to hand over to Pearl Abyss and we wish them the best of luck in their future ventures."