Investors Dump Pearl Abyss Stock After Crimson Desert Reviews

Pearl Abyss Corp's stock plunged roughly 29.88 percent today, sliding from 65,600 KRW to 46,000 KRW. The drop followed reviews of its massively hyped action RPG Crimson Desert, which sits at an 80 on OpenCritic and 78 on Metacritic—solid scores but short of the high 90s some expectant fans were hoping for.

The scale of the sell-off looks clearer against the recent run-up: from December 30, 2025 to January 30, 2026 the share price jumped about 52.94 percent, from 37,400 KRW to 57,200 KRW. Pearl Abyss announced Crimson Desert had "gone gold" on January 22, confirming the March 19 release, and a PR push sent the stock to an all-time high of 68,500 KRW on March 16—roughly a 125-percent increase versus March 16, 2025.

Many investors who bought in near that peak sold off this morning after markets closed, producing the steep decline. That doesn't necessarily spell doom: the company's stock remains higher than it was a year earlier and could bounce back once Crimson Desert's sales numbers are known.

South Korea

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