Entertainment

Pearl Abyss Staff Gets Huge Bonus for 5 Million Crimson Desert Copies Sold

After Capcom celebrated a win of seven million units sold for “Resident Evil Requiem,” it’s Pearl Abyss’ turn with five million copies sold of “Crimson Desert.” After a little over a month since the release of the hit single-player adventure, the team has not only blasted through that many copies sold, but has also awarded each employee with a bonus of approximately $3,400 USD.

Unfortunately, bonuses in the video game industry are complicated. It seems that employees are rewarded more often than not with layoffs after a job well done. This time around, it seems as though Pearl Abyss wanted to share the win with everyone on the team, all 733 approximate employees.

For context, $3,400 USD translated to 733 employees is equivalent to about 3.7 billion won throughout the entire company. Concerning the decision, Pearl Abyss CEO Heo Jin-young said, “I express my deep respect and gratitude for the hard work of each and every one of you who created a product that the world is enthusiastic about, and I am paying a celebratory bonus for achieving 5 million sales to all employees who have silently fulfilled their roles in their respective positions.”

As a justification for the amount of money spent on the bonuses, he also said, “Our journey does not end here. The potential we confirmed today will be the most powerful driving force to overcome any challenge we face in the future.”

“Crimson Desert” was released on March 19 to critical acclaim and is expected to be a tough competition among game of the year events this year.

2026 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.

This story was originally published April 27, 2026 at 11:08 AM.

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