Black Desert Online

Did You Know?

• Pearl Abyss began work on a prequel titled Crimson Desert in 2018, but it became a separate standalone IP with a different storyline and new characters.
• During the night, some NPCs become unavailable as they return home, and monsters drop more loot.

Setting

Black Desert Online is set in a high fantasy world centered on conflict between the materialistic Republic of Calpheon and the spiritual Kingdom of Valencia. Long ago, the four main areas—Calpheon, Serendia, Balenos, and Mediah—were at peace until the Black Death spread via merchants from Valencia, causing widespread death and paranoia. Three areas formed an alliance and waged a 30-year war, with Mediah profiting by harvesting and trading black stones. After the war, trade with Valencia slowly resumed, but tensions rose when the importance of black stones became known. Calpheon, lacking black stone deposits, stole from others, escalating conflicts with Valencia, which possesses a vast Black Desert rich in black stones.

Development and release history

Development of Black Desert Online began in 2010, shortly after Pearl Abyss was founded in September 2010 by Kim Daeil, a former developer with Hangame and NHN Gaming. The game uses Pearl Abyss' custom Black Desert engine, designed for fast rendering in a seamless world and large-scale castle sieges. A Japanese publishing deal with GameOn Japan was agreed on 8 September 2012, and details were released to the public afterward. The game was demonstrated at G-Star in November 2012 and at Gamescom 2013. Closed beta testing began in October 2013, followed by a second three-week closed beta in April 2014, and open beta in December 2014. The game launched in Korea, Japan, and Russia in 2015; in North America and Europe on 3 March 2016; and in other regions through 2018. The Mediah Expansion and Valencia I Expansion were released in 2016, with new classes added through 2019. An updated PC version, Black Desert Remastered, was released on 22 August 2018. In 2021, Kakao Games stopped services and Pearl Abyss took back publishing rights.

Reception

In April 2016, publisher Kakao Games reported sales of 400,000 copies in the first month in Europe and North America, with an average of 100,000 concurrent users. By March 2017, the game had 3.4 million registered players in North America and Europe, and by May 2018, over 1.2 million copies had sold on Steam in those regions. As of September 2018, the game had over 10 million registered users worldwide, reaching 18 million players by April 2019 and 40 million by 2020.