Billionaire Founder Stories: Black Desert’s success didn’t just make money, it launched Pearl Abyss / Valve into a global phenomenon with millions of players in more than 150 countries, and inspired the studio to expand into mobile titles, new franchises, and ambitious future releases like Crimson Desert. Here, we explore Pearl Abyss, a South Korean video game developer founded in 2010 by Kim Dae‑il and Youn Jaemin, who set out to change how players experience online worlds. Their first major success was Black Desert Online, a massively multiplayer (MMORPG) game known for its deep combat, stunning graphics, and expansive sandbox world, powered by a custom game engine built entirely in‑house. Why did Pearl Abyss build its own engine instead of using an existing one? How do you design worlds that keep players coming back year after year? Whether yo ...