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Oh dear – someone's opened the can of worms around what makes a triple-A or indie studio. This time, it's one of the leads from Pearl Abyss, the company behind fantasy open-world adventure Crimson Desert, who maintains their studio operates with flourishes of both sides.
"We are an indie publisher with a triple-A quality game. We can actually have fun and we can do things," Will Powers, director of marketing and public relations at Pearl Abyss, explained to The Washington Post. "We're more adaptable, we are more malleable. We can pivot faster, versus the [triple-As] of the world that are restricted by their brand bibles."
He makes this comment on the back of discussion of the size of his team, which is a half-dozen strong. For many companies making games the scale of Crimson Desert, you'd have whole publicity departments, but, as he points out, Pearl Abyss aims to be more tactile.
Regarding Crimson Desert and its MMORPG predecessor Black Desert Online, the developer Pearl Abyss seems very indie-spirited. It's dedicated to its own IP and seems to operate with a lean amount of staff.
But the publisher side of the South Korean company has owned CCP Games, the developer behind Eve Online, since 2018, and it has invested in other studios since. I find the claim that Pearl Abyss is truly "indie" a little disingenuous in light of this, because it seems like an outfit keen to expand and become a bigger player within the industry.
The sheer scope of Crimson Desert can't be undermined here either. This is a gigantic game, with hundreds of hours of gameplay. It's something a much smaller team would've likely struggled to ship. It brings to mind the discussion around Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, where, although, it was Sandfall Interactive's first game, the studio had publisher backing, and members of the team had some development pedigree.
These conversations debating indie and AAA often resist simplicity, but we can at least agree that Crimson Desert is a fine accomplishment. I'm just not sure it should be categorized anywhere near the likes of Slay the Spire 2 or Mewgenics when discussing its place in the indie game catalogue.
